Twilight Walking
by Shibby-One
Summary: The reveal of Danny being Danny Phantom has the opposite affect they'd hoped for: he's faced with great fear. Because of an incident in his past, he's banished with Sam and Tucker, left to wander in the wilderness to find a new life for themselves.
1. Chapter One

Ah, yes. My first fanfic since… wow. Two summers ago? It's been awhile. And yes! I've found a new fandom. Bit of a change from anime fandoms, if I do say so myself. Anyway, new fanfic time, one I've been working on by myself since the end of October. I just… kinda started writing it one day. It was semi-inspired by the song "Fix You" by Coldplay, of which I don't own. Anyway, I've never spoken of this or shown it anyone before this week, when I mentioned it on dA. So… yeah. Heh. Anyway, I'll stop… babbling. Oh, I also don't own _Danny Phantom_. If I did, it wouldn't be very different, but oh well.

**-Shibby**

**Twilight Walking  
**

**Chapter One**

"_Come with me."_

_The voice was so cold, so demanding, that he almost felt obligated to follow. It was the type of tone that scared you into submission, made you feel like you could only stay where you stood, and you had no power over yourself._

_But he didn't want that._

"_No." The man narrowed his eyes beneath his brimmed cap, his hand on the holster of his .45._

"_You are under the Impending Exile Amendment, and you _will _obey my commands. Under the IEA, I have the right to shoot you where you stand."_

"_I don't care." He tightened his fists. "I'm not going anywhere. I didn't _do _anything."_

"_You know what you did," the man said in the coldest tone that he had ever heard out of a living being. "Come with me… or face the consequences."_

"_I only face the consequences of actions that I've done," he replied, trying to keep himself calm. He could feel his anger building; feel that familiar feeling of his power warming his body. The officer breathed out deeply and pulled the .45 out of its holster. He locked it into place, aiming it straight for the teenager's forehead._

"_If you don't come with me now," he warned, "I'll kill you."_

"_I'd like to see you try."_

* * *

It was becoming colder again. The seasons were changing; the warm, sweet air of summer was slowly giving way to the brisk, cool air of autumn. 

Which meant, eventually, it would be the cold, wet, snowy season of winter.

The sun had already fallen, and, once again, he had overestimated the length of the days. The days were becoming much, much shorter, which meant he would have to collect wood, shrubs and whatever burnable litter was around earlier, so they could see at night.

"Aww, damn it…" Danny Fenton muttered as he could feel his leg burning. He had, _once again,_ cut his leg on something he couldn't see while collecting firewood. Muttering to himself about wanting his thicker pants back, he grabbed the offensive branch and threw it on the top of his large pile.

He couldn't hold the pile with only one arm, so he couldn't use his other hand to create a little, fluorescent green flame to lead his way.

He slowly stumbled out of the thicker woods and into the little clearing they had found, dumping the logs into the fire pit they had built.

"Got enough wood there?" Sam Manson asked, lighting a match and kneeling down over the wood, trying to make it catch flame. "Tuck, can you rip me a blank page from the book?"

"Why _this_ book?" Tucker Foley asked, lowering it to see the girl. She frowned and pushed her loose, dark hair away from her vivid eyes.

"Because it's _there,_ and I need a catalyst for this fire," she said, growing annoyed. Danny slumped to the ground, reaching into his bag and pulling out a bent water bottle. He leaned against a large rock and closed his eyes, allowing his hair to fall over the rock. It had gotten too long for him to properly see anymore, which he knew would happen eventually, but it was so damn _annoying._

Sam and Tucker both shared his sentiments. And for Tucker, he had suddenly grown three inches in the last year and a half; Sam had to rip his other clothes to make makeshift extensions for his thick pants, so they at least reached his ankles.

Tucker reluctantly handed over the page, returning to his book. He was writing in it with a pen that had no back, tapping the pen absently against his face. A small, dark inkblot was forming on his face. Sam looked up from her triumphant fire lighting, and giggled lightly.

"Tuck, you have ink on your face," she said, leaning back and dusting off her boots. Tucker placed a hand on his cheek and felt the wet ink run onto his fingers.

"…Damnit!" he exclaimed angrily. He glowered at Sam as he wiped it away with his sleeve. "Sam, when you forage me pens, can you _please_ get _whole_ ones?"

"You were lucky I found one at all," Sam snapped. "And if you don't appreciate it, you could always use a stick and ash again." Tucker shuddered at the memory of his makeshift writing utensil from the spring.

The three outcasts sighed and stared into the fire, Danny dosing in and out of sleep, Sam drawing in the dirt with her long fingernails, and Tucker getting angry over all the things he had no control over, like the cold air and the darkening sky.

Danny's thoughts became jumbled and clouded as his mind drifted into unconsciousness. He thought about all that had happened in the past year and a half, thought about the future he had once had, but was now a distant dream.

Sam coughed into her hands, gently at first, but then it grew into a scratchy, hacking cough that left her breathless for a few moments. After wiping her mouth with her jacket bottom, she glanced at Danny. He was laying with his head back on a rock, his face towards the sky. His arms laid helplessly by his sides, and his body was twisted as it leaned against the rock. She could see his breaths curl into wisps in the air as he breathed slowly.

"I wonder how long it will be before he wakes up," Sam said softly. Tucker glanced up.

"Keep an eye out for the Dreams," he said, flipping a page. "It's best if we wake him before he falls too much into them." Sam remained silent. "I mean, God knows, one day we won't be able to—"

"I know!" Sam snapped, bringing her knees to her chest. She looked over at her crumpled, fallen hero. He rolled onto his side, his face calm.

The fire gave off a strong scent of wood, and Sam briefly wondered if someone nearby would notice it. She had hoped no one would, but she was uneasy, being this close to a town.

"We've made good headway," Tucker said after a period of silence. Sam nodded. "I think we're in north eastern Montana."

"Well, we didn't start actually _moving_ until mid summer last year," Sam noted. "We could be farther east if we had made the decision sooner."

Tucker put down his book (it was the fifth time he'd read it, because he only grabbed one before they escaped Amity Park), and pulled out the newspaper he had found a few days earlier in a park.

"I can't believe you almost got caught over a newspaper," Sam muttered darkly. Tucker grinned sheepishly.

"Thank God for hormones!" he said, giving her a thumbs-up. Because Tucker had grown three inches, had longer hair, and even had stubble had allowed him to venture into a park without being recognized. "Some guy thought I was some local school teacher," he said, opening the paper and scanning for a certain article. "He kept calling me 'Mr. Chaesz', or something like that."

"I spy Danny," Sam said, noticing a picture on the front of the paper. Tucker turned it around and rolled his eyes.

"Hah, there it is," he said. He pointed to the picture. "_This_ was why I got the paper in the first place."

A few nights prior, a rogue spirit had been attacking a small farming town relentlessly, trying to destroy the house where it was murdered. Which was putting a young married couple and their infant in danger. And so, because he couldn't shy away from the heroics, Danny Fenton became Danny Phantom, and successfully drew the evil resentment out of the spirit and sent it on its way in the Afterlife.

"Spirits like that give the Ghost Zone a bad name," Danny had said. Both Tucker and Sam had become worried that Danny was speaking _affectionately_ about the Ghost Zone since the spring. It especially worried Sam; her worst nightmare was her and Tucker coming back from looking for firewood and food and finding a very dead Danny.

"Ah, yes. 'Danny Phantom Rids Evil Spirit'," Tucker read off the article. "It just talks about how such a 'kind spirit' could be considered dangerous."

"Well, it _could_ be because of his unstable powers, mysterious state, _and_ his rising temper," Sam mentioned. "That was one of the things that drove the governor to declare him Dangerous." Tucker frowned at her.

"Yes, I know, thank you," he said, turning back to the paper. "Why do you insist on spitting out the obvious?"

"Because we've been _on the run_ since last _SPRING_ because of it!" Sam exclaimed suddenly. Tucker glanced at her, a bit shocked. Sam started coughing again, harder this time, nearly choking on her own breaths. Tucker leaped up and knelt next to her, patting her back and pulling her long hair from her face. Her hair now reached her waist, growing at a ridiculous rate since they'd left Amity Park.

And with her cough, it was her constant burden.

"Sam," a wearied voice said, and a water bottle was offered before her. She gratefully took it and drank some, letting the cool water to soften her scratched throat.

"Thanks, Danny," she muttered, a blush darkening her cheeks. She was glad her veil of hair was covering her face, so Danny couldn't see. Danny smiled, his own hair in his eyes, and pulled his hair behind his ears so he could see her.

Looking from Tucker to Sam, he sighed heavily and closed his eyes.

"Danny, I—" Sam started, but Danny cut her off. Tucker turned away, picking up the paper and putting it into his bag.

"I know, Sam."

The fire had long since faded into dying embers.

* * *

Chapter one. This is pre-typed, by the way, so… chapters will come pretty steadily. This is the only fanfic-related thing I've written in a long time, so… please let me know what you think. :) 

_When you try your best, but you don't succeed, when you get what you want but not what you need…_

**-Shibby-One**


	2. Chapter Two

Well, since this chapter is already done, figured I'd post it. And since I won't be posting again until most likely the new year - Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, all that jazz. Wow, I'm amazed at the amount of response I got for this. I didn't expect much, so not much amazed me. But still! I'm glad people are interested. I'm certainly having fun. Next step; get people who **don't** already know me on dA to read this! Excellent. Anyway, your kind words were very encouraging. This next chapter is kinda short, but explains more of the story. The big thing I've been having trouble with is steadying the plot – where I am writing it, I'm on Chapter Seven and I've been having issues with rushing the plot a bit. Hopefully it isn't reflected too badly here. ; Oh, and I forgot to mention; this story is DxS. Not so much now, but later… it gets a LOT more DxS-ish. And if you're a new reader and isn't someone from dA… I'm a big DxS person. Still don't own _DP._

**-Shibby**

**Twilight Walking  
**

**Chapter Two**

"The sun feels good, doesn't it?"

"It'd feel better if it were warm outside."

"What month is it? Is it October yet?"

"Well, we'll know when Hallowe'en is close by decorations."

"IS THAT AN EAGLE?!"

"No, Tucker, that's a hawk."

"I see mountains!"

The three outcasts were standing atop of a cliff, looking over the vast forest that had been their home for four days. In the very far distance, they could see a dim mountain range, far far away.

A soft breeze blew at them, and Tucker stretched his arms.

"Well, I still say that the sun feels good."

Sam, who was cold that morning, was now _amazed_ that she could _ever_ be cold. The sleep-deprived Danny, who had been shaken awake by Tucker just before dawn because of the Dreams, had one hand on his backpack strap, one hanging by his side… and his own hand was right against Sam's, who was busy looking the other way so that he wouldn't see her blush.

Her silly little fourteen-year-old crush on him had grown to fifteen-year-old admiration, to sixteen-year-old completely-fallen-in-love. Seeing him, being with him for this past year and a half, had given her new respect for him, his ghost powers, and their relationship.

She had been so _ready_ to tell him. Right after the revealing of Danny Phantom, she knew would be the right time. He would have finally lifted the burden of hiding his secret off of him, and she knew she could let him know the love she felt for him.

She knew, somehow, that the feeling was returned, that he felt the same way as her. She was almost sure of it (especially after bribing it out of Tucker). She was so ready for the day that she could be held in his warm embrace, look into his eyes and fall into his kiss…

But that vision died a long time ago.

"We should keep going," Tucker said, leading the way. Sam tugged on Danny's am, to let him know they were leaving.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, Sam," he said, and followed behind them. He shifted his backpack onto his other shoulder, to give the first one a rest. Sam smiled and remembered how, when one of his backpack straps broke, he gave it to Sam to use as a belt so she wouldn't be de-robed in front of two guys – even if they _were_ her best friends.

"Let's goooo on top of this… mountaaaaaain," Tucker sang, causing both of his friends to cringe. He stopped to think. "And… maaaaaaaybe there's…. uhh…"

"A pond?" Sam offered. They had heard from eavesdropping that there was a very clear, clean pond somewhere on this path.

"…Yeaaaaaaaah," Tucker said, pushing her forward. "Lead the way, Sam!"

"Fuck you," Sam spat at him, causing Tucker to heave with laughter. "Tucker, you have to be the most _bizarre_ person I've ever met in my life."

"I agree," Danny said, perking up. "And I fight the undead."

"No, you fight the evil dead," Tucker said. "There's a difference. I think."

"You mean malicious," Sam said, giggling. It was moments like these that lifted her spirits, and she thought just maybe they'll make it to Maine. Normally she wasn't the most optimistic thinker, but there were times she just couldn't help but feel the sun in her heart.

Maybe.

"Let's go, I feel gross," Tucker said, nudging Sam up the trail.

* * *

**Ummm... I just logged on, and everything that was lost on my computer came back! I'm so happy! So happy that I may post another chapter just so I can be sure to have more backups!  
**

Like I said; random and short. It explains their situation a bit more, hopefully. Anyway, the next chapter goes back to Amity Park, to Casper High School. Valerie overhears an interesting conversation between Lancer and two state policemen. Amity Park is pretty much in constant lockdown since 'the ghost boy' escaped custody… oh dear.

Until then!

_When you feel so tired but you can't sleep… Stuck in reverse._

**-Shibby-One**


	3. Chapter Three

**Merry Christmas, everyone! **I decided the upload the next chapter today, since I found a few minutes to hop online. Although after this, no updates until 2007, sadly. One of the reasons I'm uploading this is because I thought I'd lost the entire story a few days ago (long story short: my harddrive crashed and all of my stuff was gone. But then it all came back!) so... I'm so grateful and it's Christmas! So, now, onwards! What a fantastic Christmas story this is, huh?

**Shibby**

**Twilight Walking  
**

**Chapter Three**

"… history books someday," Lancer finished, his voice muffled from behind the door. Valerie was hovering outside his office, listening to his daily lunch break conversations with the state troopers.

"Well, it'll certainly be entertaining for future students," one of them (everyone called him 'Booker' for some reason) said. "I mean, that was the part of history _I_ always enjoyed learning about. The treason, exile, all that fun stuff."

The sound of moving chairs and squeaking furniture sounded from behind the door. Valerie held her breath, wondering if it was time for her to run away silently like she always did.

But luckily, it wasn't.

"Well, in any case, it'll certainly put Amity Park on the map," Lancer said.

"It already is," said the second state trooper (Known as 'DiMacii', his last name). "When I was in D.C. last week with the governor… as soon as people saw him, everyone would react, asking him about this place."

"But it's known as a home to a dangerous criminal," Lancer said dejectedly. "That's why I want to see what it says in history books, long after this ends. Maybe it'll end up being the smartest city in the whole country for exiling them."

"Maybe; but I doubt it," Booker said. He took a sip of something. "It's odd how this happened. I mean, I thought people _liked_… you know. Him."

"They did," Lancer said quickly, his voice lowering. Valerie pushed herself against the door, straining to hear. Her long, dark curls fell down her back, and she closed her eyes as she rested against the door, dying to hear anything she could. Speaking of Danny, Sam or Tucker was purely prohibited in Casper High – Especially amongst the junior class.

"But then, he started getting… violent. He would lose control really easily, and… well… you know what happened," Lancer said in a near whisper, trying to say as little as possible. "I mean, teenage hormones mixed with deadly ghost powers – I'm surprised they haven't found him blown up or something by now."

"Well, he has ghost powers; he's really good at hiding, I guess," DiMacii said. "And they got away before we could get a sufficient enough signature to track him. He's only half ghost; tracking for a full ghost leads us to dead ends."

Valerie sighed. She stood up quietly, not wanting to hear any more. Just thinking about Danny broke her heart. She had spent the first few months of his exile trying to convince herself it was a mistake. A bad dream. _Anything_.

But… that didn't make any sense, did it? He was what he was, and there was nothing she could do about it. She could hate him, beat him, kill him. It wouldn't _change_ anything…

She looked around the empty hallway, and then dashed across the hall into her English class, the class she had after lunch.

When the bell rang, the state troopers would return to their posts, the National Guardsmen waiting so they could take their quick break before returning to their posts at the front doors.

_At least it's not as extreme anymore,_ Valerie thought to herself. Tensions around the school were much more lax so far this year, maybe since the fear that they'd had about Danny never happened.

They had expected him to destroy the school in a fit of rage; his anguish and anger at being exiled mixing furiously with his ghost powers to create a monstrous entity, eventually destroying the school – and maybe the town.

They'd expected it for days, weeks, months—

Until an entire year went by. By the end of their sophomore year, they deployed some of the state troopers back to their original posts, and most of the Guardsmen back to the base. The entire town had eased, many people convinced that Danny had died.

The bell rang.

Junior and Senior lunch was over. As always, she was the first one in the classroom, never eating in the cafeteria anymore. Her classmates trudged in, sitting down in their seats and talking about whatever they had been talking about at lunch.

Lancer made his way across the hall and into the class, waving good-bye to Booker and DiMacii. He closed the door at the second bell, and stood before his class.

"Welcome back from lunch, everyone," he said in a cheery tone. "I hope you filled up enough for your brain to work, because today, we're discussing more of the later chapters in The Scarlet Letter!"

Groans of resentment sounded throughout the class. Valerie sighed.

Every year, classes like English were kept the same. She'd been in this English class, with the same people, since freshman year. The only classes that stayed the same were the English and History classes – every other class switched people.

Freshman year, Danny, Tucker and Sam were in this very class. As a matter of fact, Danny had sat in front of her, Tucker to his right, and Sam behind Tucker, next to her.

That is, until, they stopped coming to school. Her seat had been moved up, and she always felt a twinge of pain (and guilt, oddly enough), when she'd glimpsed the roster at the end of freshman year and seen their names scratched out. Forever.

Lancer frowned at his students.

"What's wrong with all of you? You all seem to dead today," he said, putting his copy of the book down. The students looked at each other and shrugged. Paulina was waving out the window to someone; one of the Guardsmen had been flirting with her through the barred windows.

"Miss Sanchez, I'd _appreciate_ it if you didn't motion to the Guardsmen _during my class!_" Lancer snapped. Paulina scoffed at the teacher, throwing her voluminous hair over her shoulder.

"But Paul is so _nice_ to me," she said back, amid giggles around the class. Valerie groaned.

_Oh, if only I could still hunt…  
_

* * *

Well, another chapter. Fun times. The next chapter will be about the Fenton's, and how they're dealing with all of this. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and see you in 2007! 

_And the tears come streaming down your face, when you lose something you can't replace…_

**Shibby-One**


	4. Chapter Four

**Happy New Year!** I won't be on again for awhile, so I decided to update now. I wrote this chapter a looooong time ago, and when reading it over, I found a few redundant parts. Heh. So… if you spot them, I know they're there. I'll revise it at some point.

**Shibby**

**Twilight Walking  
**

**Chapter Four**

"Aauugh!"

Maddie glanced up as she heard the frustrated cry of her daughter above her. She frowned and stopped leafing through her book, staring at the ceiling.

"Jazz? Honey?" she called up. "Is something wrong?"

"This stupid paper!" Jazz's muffled reply came through the ceiling. "This is _impossible!_" Maddie smiled, knowing that Jazz was going through her mid-paper-crisis. With every major college assessment, Jazz had a "freak-out" as she called it about the research part. It was her least favorite part.

Maddie returned to her book. She was reading on the habits of young spirits, ghost of children, teenagers and young adults, and what they're typical habits were.

She claimed she was doing it for her work, for the research she and her husband did on ghosts – the same thing she always did.

She was actually using every bit of knowledge available to her to find her now 'dead' son.

Ever since his exile, he had been officially 'dead' – His name wasn't anywhere to be found. They weren't allowed to keep any records of him at all. No pictures, no documents, not even a spelling test from first grade in which he got a 100 that had been on the fridge for six years.

His birth certificate, his school ID, everything had been taken and destroyed. Everything in his room had been confiscated, and the Fentons were _demanded_ that they find some other use for the room, so that he wouldn't be tempted to come back to it. Politically and economically… he never even existed.

But it was never as easy as that to forget your own son.

Maddie continued her reading, reading the same sentence about infant spirits and their cries for milk as her thoughts drifted, once again, to Danny. Several times a day she'd let her thoughts wander, and they'd always come back to the same thing.

Her son.

The one that didn't even exist.

"Oh, Danny," Maddie whispered to herself. She glanced around the room, noting where the secret microphones were hidden and made sure that her whisper was so soft _she_ barely heard it.

"Moooooom!" Jazz called through the ceiling. The footsteps of her daughter sounded as she pounded out of her room, down the stairs, and into the living room. Jazz's short red hair bounced around her shoulders as the college freshman stormed into the room, a big, thick encyclopedia in her hands. "Do I _have_ to use this stupid book?"

"Of course, Jazz," Maddie said thoughtfully, flipping a page. "The assignment said 'traditional media', and that is very traditional."

"Arrgh!" Jazz yelled again in frustration, storming back out of the room. "I hate college! And I hate _researching!_"

Maddie watched her go right back up to her room. Jazz's explosiveness had been something that was shocking when it first happened, but ever since the exile, they'd all become used to it.

Out of anyone in all of Amity Park, Jazz was the most closely watched. The National Guard, the state police, they were all ordered to keep a close eye on her. All her activities, phone calls, internet searches – everything was wiretapped and watched. If she even breathed one word of her little brother, she'd be locked up so fast it wouldn't even be funny.

Everyone knew that the first person Danny would try to contact would be Jazz.

And Jazz's only way to let out her frustration, chagrin, and overall worry of her brother was getting frustrated over stupid things such as research for a college paper.

Maddie sighed. This wasn't the life she imagined when she first came to Amity Park.

As of… right now, I'm on page 69 of the original story. I typed up half of it in one document before I started posting it, and I'm on page 69. But I'm writing the end currently, before I forget. I'm in the middle, although it's more of a middle-end. I'm almost done writing this; I'll just have to post it afterwards! Have a good new year, see you in 2007!

_When you love someone but it goes to waste… Could it be worse?_

**Shibby-One**


	5. Chapter Five

Well, I said I'd be back in 2007, and I am. Is everyone well? That's good. I like writing fanfics again, it's a nice change from short stories. When I write original stuff, it's always short stories, never long ones, so one long long story is nice to do again. I've missed this. Anyway, yes, on with the story. Nice, long chapter about the three of them. I hope you enjoy!

**Shibby**

**Twilight Walking  
**

**Chapter Five**

"I swear… To God… If… one more ghost… c-comes…" Danny trailed off, trying to catch his breath. He had just spent a good part of an hour chasing after a ghost that threatened to take Sam and 'do what he will' with her.

Sam, who had been harmlessly sitting in the water on the banks of the pond, had been scooped up and used to provoke Danny into fighting by a weird little spirit who claimed he was a 'Spy for the Big Boys of the Ghost Zone', or something.

Tucker poured water over his friend's head.

"Calm down, dude," he said, pushing Danny's sopping bangs off his forehead. "Sam's okay, and the ghost is gone…" he trailed off, since he knew Danny wasn't listening. The ghost hybrid wasn't even conscious anymore. His head was lying absently against Tucker's arm, his body limp. Tucker sighed.

"Sam, can you help me with him?" Tucker asked. Sam was sitting a few feet from them, still recovering from her scare. "I know you're freaked, but he's too heavy for me to carry."

"That's kind of sad, considering he can't be more than one hundred pounds at the moment," Sam replied in a sad tone. Tucker sighed.

"Well, I doubt I'm any heavier, and neither are you, Sam." Sam stood up and walked over, bending down to take half of Danny's body.

Together, they lifted their fallen friend from the grass, his head rolling back, and propped him up on their shoulders. His head fell forward, his dark hair veiling his face, his eyes closed. Sam picked up his bag and slung it over her vacant shoulder, along with her large messenger bag. Tucker had his bag, and they made their way into the woods, where they could lay Danny down without anyone seeing them.

"Okay, Danny," Tucker said, lowering the boy down to the ground. This was a normal routine for them; there was always at least one of them who lost all their strength and passed out, forcing the other two to pull them away into the cover of the woods, and lay them down, using a bag as a pillow for them.

Sam lay down in the patchy grass and stared at the mid-afternoon sky. She closed her eyes and let the breeze billow over her, her long hair out and around her head like a halo. She heard Tucker lay down on Danny's other side, tired from all the walking.

"…Y'know… sometimes I wonder if it's even worth it anymore," Tucker said slowly, after a few moments. "I mean… look at us."

"I know," Sam agreed.

"Danny can barely function anymore… you're thin as a rail, and really sick, Sam—"

"I'm _not _really sick," Sam cut in, opening her eyes. "I'm _fine._"

"Whatever you say, Sam," Tucker said tiredly. "What I mean is… what kind of life is this for us?"

"…It isn't one." Both Sam and Tucker gasped as Danny opened his eyes. "This isn't any life that anyone wanted. And trust me; I know what you guys mean. There are a lot of times that, when I feel like I'm going to pass out or something, I just let it happen… because part of me hopes that I won't wake up."

"Danny, how long have you been awake?" Sam asked.

"Only about a minute," Danny replied, sitting up slowly. "I opened my eyes and I didn't hear anything, and I… I looked over at you, Sam, and you looked like you were asleep, and I didn't want to wake you. I didn't realize you guys were just… lying down."

"Well," Sam said, sitting up, "at least we're clean now."

"Mmm, yes," Tucker said, sitting up as well. "And Danny, you kicked some ghost ass."

"Thanks," Danny said, grinning. "It wasn't fun in the least, but at least you were okay, Sam." Sam smiled.

"Should we just stay here tonight?" Sam asked, looking around. "I mean, we're pretty out of the way, and I don't know about you guys, but two ghosts in the same week? I'm really tired."

"Yeah, I agree," Danny said. He laughed. "Y'know, we used to chase ghosts around almost every day."

"We also got three meals and a bed everyday, too," Tucker added with a cynical tone. He turned to Danny. "Why are you still playing the superhero, Danny? Most people see you as a threat." Danny shrugged.

"Exiled, unwanted and sought after," he started, "I'm still the only ghost fighter around who can match the caliber of these ghosts. If not me, than who?"

Neither of his friends answered

* * *

Days and days, weeks and weeks passed as the unwanted trio traveled to the edge of Montana and into North Dakota. They came upon an abandoned farmhouse – the second one they'd come across since leaving Amity Park. 

"Oh, sweet," Tucker said, pushing the door open. "This one has a full ceiling this time!" The three of them went inside, closing the door. It was completely empty, save for a few cardboard boxes and a ladder out in the barn. Sam went out into the back to look at the miles and miles of fields behind the house.

"It looks like a farm that had some bad seasons," she said, looking out at the fields. Tucker was busy exploring the house. Danny just sat down in the middle of what once was a living room and leaned against his bag, looking around.

Even though they loved each other so much (some more than others), they were together all the time, and sometimes needed time away from each other. It wasn't often that Danny got time alone (save for when he was unconscious), so he took it when he could get it.

His thoughts always wandered back to his first life – the fourteen years he lived as a normal human being. His memories of that life were always jumbled and confusing – did he miss his first life? Would he go back to it if he could? He couldn't ever decide.

Many times he found himself thinking of that oh-so-forgotten past. A time when he could go where he pleased, as he pleased, as a legal citizen of the United States, protected under laws, liberties and regulations set down by people he didn't know – but really wanted to thank.

And now, he'd lost it all.

His other half drifted into his mind. His mysterious powers, and the way that they worked, completely syncing up with his mind. It was because of the connection between his emotions and his powers that he had been considered such a threat. At fifteen, his emotions and hormones were haywire; combining those emotions with his unstable powers created an explosive and deadly pair.

Something he'd never be able to forget—

"_GET AWAY FROM ME—!!"_

"There's bedrooms upstairs," Tuckers voice said, jerking Danny out of his memories. The loud clanging of his boots resonated throughout the empty walls as he noisily came back down. He dropped his backpack beside Danny and smirked. "I mean, they don't have beds or anything, but they have doors and windows. And one of them has a fireplace! It looks like a Master Bedroom. It's such an exciting thought, having an actual _house_ to live in, huh?" Danny smiled grimly.

"Pathetic, isn't it…" he said to himself as Tucker walked over to the window. At the beginning of their exile, Danny had remained painfully optimistic, like he always was. Sam was normally the sour one, constantly saying how their lives had pretty much ended.

But, over time, Danny's emotions had been rubbed thin; even he, the always optimistic one, was starting to doubt whether he could continue on.

"SAAAAAAAAAAAM!" Tucker yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth. Danny immediately leapt up, zoomed over to Tucker at breakneck speed, and grabbed his face so fast they both went crashing to the floor.

"YOU IDIOT!" Danny said, holding his friend down. "What if you were heard? Or worse, what if someone heard you calling 'Sam'?" Tucker, who had both of Danny's long-fingered hands clapped over his mouth and nose, just stared back at Danny in shock with his muted green eyes.

Something rustled outside of the windows. Both boys looked over to the windows and instinctively ducked down underneath the sill, holding their breaths.

"I'm sorry," Tucker whispered. "I didn't think there was anyone near this house."

"If _anything – ANYTHING – _happens to her," Danny threatened back in a whisper, "I swear to God, I—"

"Hiding from me, are we now?" Sam said, her head appearing upside-down, a bemused look on her face. Her long, waist-length raven hair fell behind her head like a shield between them and the house.

Both Danny and Tucker gasped and jumped about three feet into the air at the sight of her. She grinned widely and straightened up, pushing her locks out of her face.

"What, did you think I was someone else?" she asked. They turned around and leaned on the window frame, both still kneeling. "And Tuck, could you _yell_ any _louder?_ I swear to God, the dead people in that cemetery could hear you."

"Well I—cemetery?" Tucker said, jerking his head up to face her. He pushed his broken glasses up his nose, stopping them from sliding. "What… a cemetery?" Sam pointed over her shoulder, out into the wilderness.

"At the edge of the property… There's a… cemetery," Sam finished, slowly remembering how Danny felt about cemeteries.

They were the main subject of the Dreams.

Tucker glanced at Danny, who was looking up at Sam, back to Sam, who was biting her lower lip.

"I-I'm…" she started, but Tucker, determined not to bring up such a horrible (and painful) subject, jumped up.

"Well, if there's a cemetery, maybe we can find out how long it's been since people were in this house!" He exclaimed, motioning to Sam. "Sam, maybe you could see what are the youngest headstones or something?"

"What? Oh – yeah, umm, okay. Right," she said absently, still looking at Danny. She slowly backed up, her hair swishing, and, turning ran off into the fields, mentally beating herself up for her mistake.

"I'm sorry, Danny," she whispered as she ran.

* * *

_Samuel Cote – 1941 – 1972_

_Melinda Cote – 1943 –_

The second name was blank.

"Well, I suppose that means 1972," Sam muttered to herself, standing up straight. The sun was setting fast, and the chilly northern air was surrounding her. As she headed back to the abandoned house (in which she could see faint wisps of smoke curling out of the chimney), she thought about the Dreams.

They were a curse, a punishment. Danny thought of them as Karma of sorts… before he stopped talking about them, anyway. It became a subject of taboo, something that was never, _ever_ to be spoken of.

The Dreams were always there, lingering in the backs of their minds. For Sam, it was absolute torture. Knowing that there was something that was hurting Danny, something that was almost literally wasting him away, that was so close, yet she couldn't do a thing to help him or protect him.

It was killing her as well.

Sam trudged back to the top of the fields and went inside the house. She closed the door tightly and, even though the first room wasn't that warm, she was glad for the walls, doors and windows that blocked the wind.

"Danny? Tuck?" she called out, walking from the foyer into the living room.

"Follow the smell of burning wood," Tucker called down from upstairs.

"And the feel of _heat_," Danny added, and the boys laughed.

An overwhelming feeling of love, adoration and optimism filled Sam's chest like no one could even believe. Danny, _laughing_, was one of the few things that could create feelings like that. Danny, who had been persecuted against, attacked, exiled, and nearly murdered, who was wasting away before their eyes, was laughing. Someone who lived such a horrible life, but could still laugh… It was enough to warm Sam's entire body.

She dashed up the stairs, taking them two at a time, eventually sprinting down the hallway with newfound energy. She pulled open the only closed door to find a brightly lit room.

It was a very large room, possibly once a master bedroom. The fireplace was alight with a large, welcoming fire, and both Danny and Tucker were sitting on the floor… with _blankets._

"Merry early Christmas, Sam," Tucker said, grinning, as Danny tossed one of the blankets to her. She caught it eagerly. "Or, err, early Happy Hanukkah, I guess."

It was very old and worn, and smelled kind of like moth balls… But it was thick, and comforting. She sat cross-legged on the floor, taking off her army-print jacket (for the first time in weeks) and let the warm air wash over her bare shoulders. The only thing she wore underneath her (extremely thick) jacket was a tank top – the one she was wearing the mid-summer day they decided to run for it.

"Feels nice, huh?" Danny asked, smiling at her. "It took us forever to get it to light, but we finally did it." Danny lifted something to his mouth that looked suspiciously like—

"Meat," Sam said, shuddering. "Honestly, can't you guys find anything _else_ to eat?"

"Um, Sam, I know you don't believe in eating animals," Tucker said, eating his own… whatever it was, "but… it's not like we can walk into a super market and buy you tofu burgers or something."

"C'mon, Sam, _I_ caught this one," Danny said, gesturing to what they were eating (which looked a lot like a large rabbit.) "Which means I didn't use any traps or anything – I caught it with my powers."

"I think eating only meat that Danny's captured is giving _me_ ghost powers," Tucker said, looking at his hands. "I mean, they must retain at least _some_ of the ectoplasmic energy you caught them with."

"I guess," Danny said as Sam covered herself in the blanket. "But at least they don't escape as often as the ones _you_ catch, Tuck."

"Hah hah – shut up," Tucker said, as Sam giggled in the background.

* * *

A sudden, powerful breeze had pushed its way into the room. One of the windows was loose, and, after the wind howling at it for hours, it finally gave way. 

And it took Sam's blanket with it.

Out the window – and into a nearby tree – went Sam's blanket, her only source of warmth. And she didn't even know it. Deeply asleep (partly because of stolen sleeping pills, partly from just being so damn _tired_) she shivered violently and the wind caressed her bare, pale shoulders.

She curled herself into a little ball on the hardwood floors, trying to keep herself warm. Her breath came out in gasps, and with the sudden cold air came her violent coughing spells.

Ever since falling through the ice last winter in Idaho, Sam had caught – and kept – a violent, hacking cough, that Danny and Tucker both knew was making her weaker and weaker. But, in her determination to be strong… she refused to believe it.

Her cough cut through the air like a knife, stabbing at the peaceful slumber they'd all been having. Danny wearily opened his eyes, half aware that his best friend was coughing herself into a coma.

He sat up and stretched a little, and realized just how damn cold it was in the room. He went over to the window, looked and fiddled with it for a bit, and pulled it shut, keeping it closed with a little ecto latch he concocted that he hoped would remain until morning.

He lay back down on the floor and scooted closer to Sam – close enough so his stomach and chest touched her back. He pulled his own blanket up over them both, and draped it down, completely covering Sam. She had stopped her coughing, and Danny leaned over her, trying to position them, when he saw it.

The blood.

The palms of her hands were decorated with little red droplets – specks of blood she had coughed up. He also noticed that the edges of her lips were also stained crimson, from all her coughing.

Danny gently rolled her onto her side, and she curled up, smiling at the sudden warmth. He laid his arm over her body, placing his hand on top of hers underneath the blanket.

He nestled his face in the back of her long hair, breathing in her scent and basking in the warmth she provided for him, too.

"I love you," he whispered into her ear. "Please… don't die."

* * *

Like I said – LONG. I had fun, though. I hope this was informative and such as to their position. In the next chapter, Jazz gets a call at midnight from someone she'd rather not talk to. Oooh, suspense. Not really. Haha. 

OH. If you haven't already, I strongly suggest you read "Estrelas" by Shimegami-chan. It's a FANTASTIC AU DP fic - one that I greatly enjoyed, and didn't expect. Sam moves in with her grandmother for the summer, and meets a mysterious ghost in her attic with a hazy past he can't remember... and you won't even believe what the story turns out to be. Anyway! Enough pimping!

**Shibby-One**


	6. Chapter Six

Well, here I am, again, with more fun. I have midterms next week, and thus I don't think I'll be able to get on to put this chapter up, so here it is, a bit early. I hope you don't mind. :) Anyway, thanks for all the love on the last chapter, hurray all the Alerts are back up! I'm currently working on a plot bunny I thought of months ago, but I don't think much will be done with it because it's proving to be really hard to move just past "this is the synopsis". Grr. But, I'm getting there, so… whatever. Oh! And, how do you like the new title?

**Shibby!**

**Twilight Walking**

**Chapter Six**

"I absolutely _refuse._"

"But, Jasmine, think of what I could _provide_ for someone in a position such as himself."

"No."

"Don't you want him to be safe? Happy? Alive?"

"I'd rather him die than be associated with the likes of you," Jazz seethed into the phone. She was curled up in the corner of her room, behind her nightstand, the farthest away from the wiretaps that were set up in her room.

It was nearing midnight, and Jazz was unsure of how much longer she'd have before her reception died.

"Jasmine, please, just consider—"

"If you want information on Danny," Jazz said in the coldest tone she could muster, "than find it out _yourself_, Vlad." And she flipped the phone down, ending the call.

She sighed and leaned her head against the wall, closing her eyes. She rubbed her temple slowly, breathing deeply.

_Okay, Jazz, just calm down,_ she thought to herself. _Think of all those yoga and tai chi classes. Think of the breathing techniques, the calming techniques. You can _not _let this scumbag get under your skin. _

_But he testified _against _Danny,_ another part of her brain said. _He's one of the very reasons that Danny could be dead. Not to mention the fact he's completely forgotten._

_But he knows as little as you do,_ the rational part replied. _As long as it remains that way, everything will be alright._

_Nothing about this is right,_ the rebellious side countered. _Nothing._

"Thank God for idiocy," Jazz murmured to herself, standing up. Ever since they lifted the wiretap on her cell phone six months ago, Jazz had eagerly been awaiting a call from her brother. Jazz knew that the excuse they had given for lifting the cell phone tap ("She doesn't get enough service to be able to use it," they had said) was complete bull. They just didn't want to have to pay for the house phone, the lab phones, and all of their individual cell phones to be tapped.

She had convinced herself of the illusion that somehow, Danny would get word – wherever he was – that Jazz's phone was no longer being listened to, and he would call and tell her he was alright, alive, and, most importantly, out of the country, and hopefully off the continent, where he would be safe. They all knew that most of Europe and Asia didn't agree with the exile that the United States had placed on Daniel John Fenton, along with his two 'guilty comrades', Samantha Tabitha Manson and Tucker Foley.

She just wondered if Danny himself knew that.

"Honestly… he has no integrity whatsoever," Jazz said, climbing back into bed. "The _nerve_ of him, calling me, asking me about Danny…" she glanced around and slid down in her comfortable bed, pulling her covers over her head. Almost every night she wondered, hoped and prayed that the three of them had food, shelter, and especially warmth.

Jazz closed her aqua eyes and pushed her wearied thoughts about her brother out of her mind. She forced herself, like always, to focus on other things, the things in her life that she had control over. Things like school, and her pending internship, and her boyfriend.

Things she knew how to handle.

Jazz sat up and turned on her bedside light, finally realizing she couldn't fall asleep. Not only was her worry for Danny and her contempt for _Vlad_ (her mysterious midnight caller) keeping her up, but she'd had coffee earlier to keep her awake while writing a report, and she was feeling the full effects of it now.

Instead, she reached onto her bedside table to complete a survey she was filling out for a friend's Humanities class project. She decided to busy herself with that.

"Okay, let's see," she said, scanning to what she had filled out. "Full name… birthday… major… parents names… siblings… sibling's na—" she stopped.

She had accidentally circled the number "one" under the "siblings" category.

"Phew, good thing I caught that," she said, her heart dropping as she erased the circle and instead circled the number "zero".

Politically and socially, she was now an only child. The only child of Jack and Maddie Fenton, with no brother two years her junior, who was everything she wasn't; loud, abrasive, cocky, but most of all, brave and full of wonderment and life.

Nope. He didn't exist in the slightest.

Jazz lowered the survey, uninterested in it. Instead she crept out of her bed and opened her door slightly, hoping she didn't set off any hidden alarms or anything.

Silently, she tiptoed down the hallway, the cold, midnight air beating on the house outside. She pressed her body against the wall and stopped at the head of the stairs, standing next to the room she was headed to.

She reached out her hand and gently touched the doorknob, feeling the door move slightly with the pressure. For some reason, they _still_ hadn't gotten the door fixed. The doorjamb was completely broken off, with the lock gone. Around the doorknob were scuff marks, dents, and a small hole where parts of the doorknob had been. The door didn't stay entirely shut anymore, and sometimes when it was very windy it swayed back and forth, like a broken windowpane.

Jazz stood at the door, and pushed it open slowly. The door swung open effortlessly, squeaking loudly in protest. She took a step into the barren room, feeling the cold wind blow in through the loose glass panes in the window.

It was just a room. Four bare walls; a closet, empty, embedded into the wall; three windows, each one locked and nailed down to prevent them from popping open unexpectedly; a large, wooden floor, covered in a thin layer of dust. They had been ordered to fill the room with something, but they stopped checking awhile ago, so they never did.

She could still remember that night.

_She slammed her door shut and slid down to the floor, burying her face in her arms. The tears flowed freely down her cheeks, soaking her shirt and jeans, her breaths coming in gasps. _

_She heard the heavy stomping of steel-toed boots, and the defiant _swish! _of the door as they kicked it open. She heard the metal pieces of the door scattering along the hallway._

"_Daniel Fenton, you are under arrest for trying to escape your sentencing."_

"_You are also being held under the Impending Exile Amendment – you have the right to remain silent."_

Jazz knelt down on the dusty floor, and stretched her arms. Her body was tingling with sleep now; she was becoming tired. She looked around, wondering if his old room was littered with hidden microphones and miniature cameras as much as the rest of the house. She decided to take a chance.

Taking a deep breath, Jazz stretched her arm out, and with her fingers squished together, began drawing a line in the dust. She had to think about it, having not seen it in awhile. She dragged her fingers through the dust, watching it float into the air. The light from the moon came in through the large picture windows, illuminating the airborne dust specks like stars in the sky. Jazz was drawing in a spot where the moon's light was falling.

After a few more minutes, Jazz sat back up, and scurried into her room, closing the door to this room quietly behind her.

In her wake, she had left, in the dust, a strange symbol, one that was familiar, terrifying, and incredible all at the same time.

A large, upper-case letter 'D', with an uppercase letter 'P' embedded inside.

* * *

This chapter was written majorly with the song 'Fix You' playing over and over. Wheeee. Okay, um, in the next chapter, Danny goes AWOL and we all get to see just why he was deemed 'dangerous' and 'unwanted' in the eyes of the people. (Or the retarded government.) There's a little DxS. Oh, and in a few chapters is a MAJOR DxS moment…o. Yeah. I'm pumped. Vlad becomes a bigger part later on, though. Oh, I watched "Eye for an Eye" in Spanish yesterday, very entertaining. I don't want to watch "Infinite Realms" until it comes out here, though, just because… I don't know Spanish and lip-reading is time consuming. Toodles. 

**Shibby-One**


	7. Chapter Seven

**Twilight Walking**

**Chapter Seven **

The days were getting painfully shorter now. There were times when Danny was certain he'd just woken up when the sun began to set.

Everything he saw before him was illuminated into a bright, fluorescent green. Danny's bright green eyes looked every which way, settling to a stop in the middle of the dirt road.

"Where are you… you filthy little jerk," Danny said in a low voice, tensing at every hint of movement. He could hear rustling behind him, and the sound of high-pitched, mocking laughter reached his ears.

"Heehee, you can't see me!" a call came from the woods. Danny spun around, his white hair mashing against his forehead and his cheeks as he spun.

"But I do know you're there," Danny said, and with that, advanced forwards. He could feel his anger rising inside him, welling from the depths of his stomach up into his chest. His speed increased, his heartbeat became louder, so loud it pounded in his ears and in his head.

His hearing became sharper; he heard the sound of a foot barely tapping the soft earth.

_Instantaneously,_ Danny spun around and shot two dazzling green energy streams from his hands in the direction he had heard this footstep.

The shapeless, soulless blob materialized before him, falling to the ground in confusion.

"What – how – h-how did you know I was there?" he asked, panicked. The energy that Danny had blasted at the little mongrel began to glow brighter, nearly white with power. Danny felt his entire body heat up, and he could feel the malice and anger seething from his face, his body, his eyes.

He had become so incredibly angry with this little monster, that he couldn't even control himself anymore.

"Stay _away_ from here," Danny growled, in a voice that he didn't even recognize as his own. His vision became blurry, and all he could see were shapeless, formless dark things in front of him, confusing him as well as angering him. He stepped forward blindly, allowing his anger to completely take control of him.

He could feel something in his hands, something small and sinister. He grinned, baring a terrifying smile that would make even the bravest man cower.

He opened his mouth wide, and, from the depths of his throat, came a blood-curling sound. He could feel everything around him being affected by this horrifying sound, knowing that the plants and trees – and especially the specter – were all being blasted every which way by the strength of his voice.

"_OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHH!"_

Slowly, Danny's vision came back into focus, but his anger didn't subside. He looked around, his brow furrowed, looking for more things to destroy with all this power.

This was the most powerful and energized he had felt since he left. Since he had been kicked to the curb like an unwanted dog.

He didn't _want_ to give this power up.

As he surveyed the area, he witnessed the damage he had done. There had been a wildflower garden nearby, slowly withering and closing up for winter, but he had already completely singed the entire area. All of the nearby trees were burnt black and smoking, bark stripped down to the bare core. Grass had been singed to just blackened dirt, and the air was filled with wasps of green-tinted smoke.

The anger that filled him subsided as he saw the damage he had done. He lowered his arms, the feelings he had just been experiencing draining from his body. He looked around him in a bit of shock at how powerful he truly was.

"…My… God," he muttered as his brilliant white hair turned dark, and his iridescent eyes turned to sky blue. He shook his head in disbelief at the amount of his power.

_He had done all this?_

He didn't know whether to feel proud or scared. It was _this very reason_ that everyone had become so afraid of him. And he knew that. He could feel it. His thoughts and emotions had somehow become interconnected to his powers, reacting and becoming more powerful as his emotions became more heightened.

And simple things got him very emotional nowadays.

"Danny! Are you alright?" Sam called anxiously from down the road. She stopped running when she came to him, transfixed by the amount of death around her.

"…What happened?!" Sam cried, after a moment of silence. She ran up to him, his head bowed, and gripped his arms, looking up into his face. "Danny, what happened here? Are you alright? What happened to that ghost? Did he do this? Danny, say something!"

"Sam, leave him alone!" Tucker called, but Sam ignored him.

"It wasn't… it wasn't the ghost," Danny started slowly. He looked up and looked all around him.

_That ghost had been right._

The mocking comment the little ghost had said to provoke Danny, the thing that made Danny start running with all his strength had been the little song that the evil little creep had repeated – a little tune that school children had made up to scare each other.

" '_Oh, Danny Phantom is a little de-e-mon,  
Better keep your kids locked up or he'll eat 'em!  
Not wanted or cared for in any place,  
Maybe the monster'll end up in YOUR face!' _"

The three had convinced themselves that Danny wasn't dangerous – it was just everyone was afraid of him. He _could_ control his powers, and he wasn't using them for malicious intent.

Then why were they always proven wrong?

Danny stared as his hands, not even realizing that Sam had slipped hers into his and was right in his face, trying to nab his attention.

The sight before him faded. Everything around him dissolved into a black abyss… he was being pulled in by them.

The Dreams…

"_GET AWAY FROM ME—!"_

"_I—I didn't mean—"_

"_How could you _do _this? You… you monster! Freak!"_

"_Danny Phantom!"_

"_But—"_

"_Danny Phantom did this! Phantom did all of this!"_

"_Danny Phantom!"_

"DANNY!"

Danny jerked violently and opened his eyes, realizing he was staring at a rather shocked looking Tucker.

He was hunched over, his chin resting on Sam's bony shoulder. He had wrapped his arms tightly around her, and apparently, hadn't been letting her go. Tears were streaming down his face, soaking the fluffy, synthetic-fur-lined collar of her Army jacket. He could feel her breathing beneath his arms… and he didn't want to let her go.

"Danny?" Sam asked, but Danny straightened up and instead, buried her face in his chest, holding onto her shoulders and laying his head on top of hers. He had grown over time as well, although not quite as tall as Tucker.

Sam was completely dumbfounded, still perplexed as to what happened. She had been trying to talk to him, when the next thing she knew, he was throwing himself onto her.

_Even though it was one of her fantasies…_

He had wrapped his arms around her body, lowering his head onto her shoulder; she could feel the tears running down her back. She put her arms around his back, wondering what on earth was happening.

But then he snapped out of it.

"Danny… what's happening to you?" Sam whispered. She closed her eyes and allowed her face to be buried in his chest.

In that moment, something passed between them. Something sparked, something happened that no one could explain. She could feel their hearts sync in their chests, beating together as one. It was so powerful that even Tucker felt it.

"Let's go find someplace to sleep," Tucker said finally, wiping the tears from his eyes.

* * *

Third term is, historically, my crappiest term, so you may not see updates for awhile. I mean, I have the majority of this typed out – I have the ending already, I'm just having an issue in some middle parts. ANYWAY, that said, I'm also in my school's production of _Les Miserables_ (I may have mentioned that before), and since I'm in the Select Chorus (SWEET!), I'm in nearly every scene. Hmm. ANYWAY, Umm, next chapter you get to see just what happened the night that the three of them escaped from Amity Park… 

By the way, I came up with that little ryhme at two in the morning in November.

**Shibby-One**


	8. Chapter Eight

**Twilight Walking  
Chapter Eight**

Vlad could almost sense them.

This was his chance. This was his chance to prove himself as a father figure, as a mentor… and as a teacher. A guide.

He hadn't meant to ruin Daniel's life; quite the contrary. He had been trying to help. But in the confusion of the justice system, he had come across as an enemy to Daniel, and a friend of the government. He was forced to testify against Daniel, and was one of the factors that had him exiled.

He was one of the people who caused Samantha and Tucker to be exiled as well.

"If I could just get them here…" he said to himself slowly. "I know they're still alive, and I know they're somewhere in the North Mid West… but… where…" He put down the pen he had been writing with and walked to the large glass windows, looking out at the setting sun. He shoved his hands in his pockets and stared pensively, wondering how long it would be before 'Phantom' was spotted around the state's border. He considered his options.

Would he contact Jasmine with the information? Or Jack, or Maddie, for that matter? Would he call the police after he found them? Or would he take them in and hide them? Would he extend a helping hand?

"Mr. Masters? Sir?" a young voice called from outside his office. Vlad turned to see his assistant, a young woman, poking her head into the room.

"Yes?" he asked, raising and eyebrow. The woman looked around, then back at Vlad.

"Those stock reports you asked for are in," she said, holding up a folder in her hands. "They look favorable."

"They do now, do they?" he said, walking over and taking the folder. He leafed through the papers, looking at them, but not taking them in at all. His thoughts fell back on to the three fugitives that were slowly making their way towards him.

There were times when he was so tempted to just take off and find them himself. He wasn't sure if the reason for this sudden thought was to help them or kill them – he couldn't decide what he wanted to do more.

He handed the folder back to his assistant and sent her on her way. Orange and red light filled his office, bouncing playfully off the curtains, the carpet and the chairs, as if beckoning him back to the window. In the distance, dark, menacing clouds could be seen, clouds threatening rain.

It was raining on the night they left.

"_They've escaped!"_

"_WHAT?"_

"_He's on the run!"_

_Lightning flashed and thunder crashed above them as nearly the entire police force ran out into the blinding summer rain. Vlad was just headed up to the station when dozens of officers came bolting out, shoving people out of the way._

"_What's going on?" Vlad asked one officer, who was running by._

"_Danny Fenton," the officer replied. "He's escaping!"_

"_Escaping?" Vlad asked, but the officer had already taken off. Vlad entered the building, looking around quizzically for some answers. _

"_Danny Fenton – the ghost boy – is fleeing custody," a young woman said when she saw Vlad looking around for answers. She was sitting with her legs crossed on a couch, chewing gum very loudly and dramatically, her bandaged hands clutching a leather purse. Vlad could see several (unpaid) parking tickets poking out of her purse._

"_He is?" Vlad asked._

"_Yeah," the woman replied. "They went to his house and burst down the door 'n stuff, and then when they tried to arrest him – y'know, to take him to the prison to be executed or somethun' – he just went invisible and took off. I guess he took his two 'colleagues' – that girl and that kid – and just left the city. It doesn't matter though," the woman said matter-of-factly to Vlad's shocked and confused face. "He's technically not a citizen of the country anymore – who'll help him?"_

_Vlad looked back out at the pouring silver rain, and took off back into the night. His heart was pounding as he ran down the street, listening to the sounds of people yelling and the sirens in the distance._

_Without thinking, Vlad ran into a park and allowed himself to transform. He sent himself invisible and flew at lightening fast speeds to the outskirts of the town, where he saw the police cars had stopped._

_He flew past them, through a row of buildings and across two streets, into the trees, and out into a small clearing just before the woods got thick for miles and miles. He stopped behind a tree and transformed back, walking out into the squishy, swampy grass. _

_Sticky July air clung to him as well as the rain. He was looking around for some form of life when the soft _squish _of shoes on wet grass caught his attention. He spun around and found himself face to face – with Daniel._

_The boy was a bit shocked to see him. He was holding an overstuffed backpack in one hand, holding a jacket in the other. His wife beater and his jeans were soaked through and clinging to him like cling wrap. His dark hair stuck to his face, and his eyes were alight with terror and resentment._

"_Danny, let's go!" Samantha said, noticing who he was looking at. She was pulling the strap to a messenger bag over her head and running, the work boots she was wearing squishing and sinking into the muck. Tucker was far ahead of them._

_And then, the three of them vanished into the woods._

_About a minute later, the police came running into the woods, some of them mud-splattered and sliding, wiping the water from their eyes._

"_Where'd they go?" they asked each other. Vlad was still staring into the woods in the direction they went, not sure what had just happened._

"_They've gone," he said, staring. One of the officers shot his gun into the air in frustration._

"_Well, the woods'll get 'em," another said, holstering his .45. _

That was the last time anyone in civilized society had seen any of them for a year.

Vlad opened his desk drawer and took out all the articles he had collected from the North and mid west, small articles about brief appearances of Phantom. A lot of them were from local newspapers of farming towns no one else would ever read, but those were the best kind.

Using these articles, an old map, and his knowledge of the trio, he was able to keep track of their route – and maybe even predict where they would go next.

He hoped that, by keeping track of their route, he would be able to find them once they got close – and maybe try to get them to come to his home. It was large, tucked away, and private, never bothered because of the mass amounts of security he had. He just had to lay a couple hundred thousand every year on the government, and they left him well enough alone.

"Hmm… I wonder…" he said to himself, looking out the window again.

Brilliant streaks of crimson red stained the sky as the sun slowly set.

* * *

I just saw Salem High School's production of _Les Miserables_ – we're gonna totally kick ass. Anyway, new chapter, whoofuntimes. I really need to make up a new summary for this story, the one I have _sucks._ But alas, there it is. Here's some Vlad interaction for ya. The next chapter is _extremely_ DxS-ish, so prepare yourself for that! 

**Shibby-One**


	9. Chapter Nine

**Twilight Walking  
Chapter Nine**

* * *

* * *

It was getting extremely cold out now. 

Sam shivered; wishing her only pair of pants weren't ripped beyond repair. The three of them walked on, day and well into the night, to keep them warm. When they had to camp, they used everything they could as blankets, and laid as closely as they could to the dying fire.

But it was becoming futile. This winter was colder than the last.

"I hope to God it doesn't snow," Sam said one morning. "I mean, last year was a mild winter. It snowed _once_ and we nearly froze. If it snows more this year—"

"We'll be fine," Danny said sternly. Sam wondered if he was trying to sound confident, because… he didn't.

"I'm freezing," Sam said softly a few days later. It was almost dusk, and it was thirty-seven degrees out. With only leggings, a short skirt and a pair of work boots to protect her legs, she was becoming so frozen she could barely walk. They had to sit down and wrap Sam's legs in a blanket to keep her warm.

"Sam, you can't continue on like this," Tucker said to her. The young woman sighed forlornly and replied with nothing.

"But we have to," she said finally. "If we stop now, we'll lose so much ground for Danny to get out of here."

"But you'll freeze," Tucker countered. "You—"

Sam gasped as she felt something draped onto her shoulders, cutting Tucker off.

It was another blanket.

"Danny?" Tucker said, glancing up at his friend. "Where the hell did you pull that from?"

"It was in my bag," Danny said. "I just found it. I don't remember putting it there, but… it's there." Sam pulled it around her shoulders, grateful for the warmth.

There had been a noticeable change in them lately. Ever since that ghost that taunted Danny with a now very popular little rhyme ("You have to admit, it's catchy," Tucker had said), something had clicked between Danny and Sam. If they'd be walking, he would just brush her fingers gently, the motion happening so quickly Sam wasn't sure if it happened at all.

Sometimes at night, she would lean on him, just for a moment or two, and she could feel her heart pounding away with his, or she would curl her arm in his.

Something was happening. It was happening slowly and sweetly, but it was happening.

Sam didn't even notice that both Danny and Tucker had abandoned her, trying to light a fire a few feet away. Their days had become so monotonous… it was dreamlike. They walked like they were in a constant haze, not really feeling anymore. It seemed as if all emotion had been rubbed right off of them from the elements.

So when she and Danny shared these brief tender moments… they lifted her heart to great measures.

Danny and Tucker were speaking in hushed voices, with a lot of shoving of Danny's shoulders from Tucker. Sam giggled and wondered what they were talking about.

"Well, I'm gonna go get some firewood," Tucker said, very loudly and… deliberately. Sam waved.

"Okay!" she replied, and made her way over to the tiny fire, sitting across from Danny.

"This looks like enough," she said, glancing at the rather large pile they had already made.

"Yeah, well… you know Tucker," Danny said softly. For a few moments the two of them sat before the fire, staring into it, avoiding each other's eyes.

Sam stared into the growing flames, a small smile forming on her lips. How long would it be before she gave her heart to him completely? She had no idea. But it was happening, ever so slowly. It took all of her effort not to throw herself at him every time they bumped into each other. Her pale cheeks grew rosy and her smile drew as she hunched her shoulders underneath her blanket,

_Oh, Danny—_

"Sam?"

Sam gasped and jumped at the sudden interruption. Danny had moved to being next to her, and was giving her a quizzical look.

"Y-yes?" she stammered, turning to him. He smiled gently.

"I was wondering… could I use some of that blanket, too?" he asked. "I mean, you _do_ have two…"

"Oh! Yes, of course!" Sam squeaked, lifting the blanket over him as well. He scooted closer to her, so the sides of their bodies were touching, and pulled it over him as tight as he could.

"Wow… that's so much better," he said, sounding genuinely pleased. Sam just gawked at him. She hadn't been able to look at him so closely in awhile… and she was amazed at how _emaciated_ he looked.

He had lost so much weight that she realized he almost didn't look the same. The circles under his eyes seemed to be a permanent fixture, and his skin was so much paler than she remembered. His long hair was constantly falling in his eyes, and he was always brushing it back, his fingers grazing his prominent cheek bones gently.

"Danny…" Sam said softly without thinking. Danny turned to look at her, a little surprised that she was looking at him.

"Sam…?" he asked slowly. "Why… what're you doing?"

"I-I… you look so… different…" she said slowly. "I mean… since we left…"

"Do I?" he asked. Sam's heart sped up.

_He's so close,_ she thought. Danny smiled at her.

A small breeze blew, and some of Sam's extremely long hair fell from behind her ears. She had the same (if not worse) problem as Danny with her unruly hair. But she didn't even notice that it had fallen – she couldn't tear herself away from the young man sitting next to her.

"Sam – your hair –" he said, reaching out and pushing it back behind her ear slowly. His fingertips grazed her cheek, and a chill traveled throughout her entire body. Danny didn't take his hand away from her cheek; instead, he gently held her face in his palm, as if she couldn't hold her head up by herself.

He reached his other hand and gently placed it on the other side of her face, rubbing her chin with his thumb. Sam's heart pounded so heavily she was _sure_ that Danny could feel it in her. Her breaths curled into up in wisps as they condensed with the cold air. It was completely silent—

It happened in one fluid movement. They had both known it would happen, and were so ready it was unbelievable.

Danny gently pulled her face towards his, and laid his lips on hers. It was brief at first, just a press as opposed to a kiss. It happened so quickly that both of them were completely taken aback. Sam looked up at him, his hands still on her face.

"Danny…" she said, doing what he had done for her, and pushing his hair out of his face. She laid her hand on his neck, and closed her eyes, reaching up and kissing him back. This time, it wasn't something that was brief or meaningless. He kissed her back, both hands on either side of her face.

Sam's heart pounded away in her chest, almost becoming the heartbeat of the land they were on. She got on her knees and allowed herself to be pulled into his arms, kissing him more passionately now. She didn't want to let him go, not ever. She put both arms around his neck and turned her head sideways, allowing herself to be completely enveloped by him. He graciously accepted this offer, and held onto her tightly, sliding his arms around her lower back and holding her right against his chest, completely enamored with her taste, and her touch.

When they broke apart, his taste still lingered on her lips, and she touched his cheek gently.

"…I love you," she whispered to him, a tear rolling down her cheek. Danny's sky blue eyes seemed to smile as much as he was, as he came closer for another kiss.

"…I know," he whispered back. He placed his nose on hers; his eyes closed, and rubbed her nose with his. "I love you, too, and… I've been dying to do this since… I was twelve years old," he said, smiling. Sam giggled. "I'm serious…" Danny felt something wet on his cheeks, and realized Sam was crying.

"Don't cry!" he said, pulling back from her and wiping her tears from her cheeks. Sam shook her head and pulled him towards her again, to both of their shock.

"I'm so happy…" she whispered to him. "I thought… I thought that telling you… would just add to the amount of stress you had. I didn't want you worrying about me or anything… S-so I…" she trailed off, staring into his eyes. He touched her face gently.

"Sam… I needed this," he said, pulling her close, touching her face tenderly with his fingers. "We both did."

* * *

_Like I said, __extreme DxS. I've pretty much finished this story (it's around eighty pages, heh) so all that's left is to upload all the chapters, which is what I'll do periodically. This was fun to write :) I'm just finished some middle things I haven't been able to write, and then it's finished. About a month and a half ago I stopped writing this for awhile because I was stumped, and started on an idea I came up with last year, I think. I don't know if I'll post it yet. It's a story called **Recovered**, and basically, Danny's disappeared, and no one knows why. He's found about a month later living with Vlad... but he's different. A bit cliche sounding, but it gets a little crazier farther along the story. I came up with this story on a three-hour train ride once, but never fleshed it out into writing. Hopefully it'll be better than this one, but this is my first real DP Fanfic, so I can't say much for it. Anyway, in the next chapter, Danny gets into a hell of a ghost fight. Fun times._

**Shibby**


	10. Chapter Ten

**Twilight Walking  
Chapter Ten**

* * *

And they continued on. 

Together, as friends, as partners, and as outcasts, they continued fighting their way through the wilderness of the northern United States.

As they traveled, a noticeable change began to fall over Danny. His emotions seemed to be split two ways, right down the middle. He was either extremely happy or optimistic – just like his old self, thanks to his 'union' with Sam – or he was a silent recluse, not speaking to anyone for hours.

It became apparent that there was something wrong within him. Tucker and Sam had known it all along; something had happened to him right before they left Amity Park.

But what it was, they had no idea.

It became colder and colder, and they were getting closer and closer to the border of the state of Wisconsin. Danny knew that, once they got there, Vlad would try his hardest to seek them out.

Right before they got there, however, they became involved in something that ended up being larger than they were.

* * *

"We need backup!" the officer yelled into his walkie-talkie, one hand clenched on his hat to keep it from blowing away. The rain that had been pouring earlier had turned into snow from the severe drop in temperature. 

A ghost who had been torturing a young family in an apartment complex had finally snapped, holding the youngest baby hostage inside. The distraught family was outside, clinging on to the rabbi that had come to help them.

"Should we get an exorcist?" one officer asked another. The second one shrugged.

"Are there Jewish exorcists?"

"Do you think it even matters at this point?"

"What's that?" the young mother screeched suddenly, launching herself onto her husband. "There's something up there!" A shadow had zoomed into the apartment, slamming the window behind it. Tucker and Sam were hiding behind the cop cars, Sam rubbing her legs together to keep warm.

"Be careful, Danny," Sam whispered, her long, dark hair being blown around her by the powerful winds. Because of the wind, Sam began to cough violently; her hacking cough still plagued her, making her notably weaker. Tucker was beginning to doubt if she could even survive the winter.

Danny stood deathly still, listening with all his might for the ghost. His brilliant white hair seemed to glow in the darkness, as did his vivid green eyes as he walked forwards, the dark apartment seemingly hiding shadows in every corner.

"Where are you?" Danny called out. He walked into the next room, a tiny little kitchen. It looked like a small tornado had come through and destroyed _everything_.

"I know you're—"

He heard a small _hiccuh_ from behind him. He spun around and found a small door. He pulled it open, the door coming clean off its hinges. He found himself in a small bedroom.

A bedroom where a young girl and an infant were sitting on the floor.

The girl's skin was nearly white, her eyes a dull red. She couldn't have been a day over twelve. Her hair hung limply from her head, and her thin arms cradled the (clearly living) infant.

"What're you doing with that infant?" Danny asked carefully. The girl looked up at him.

"He's mine," she said, holding the baby against her chest. "I saved him."

"You… what?" Danny said, perplexed. "Saved him? How?"

"I got the medicine," the girl said, her expression turning from angry to hopeful. "I went out, just like Mama said, and I came back, in the snow, with the medicine for Elijah."

"What… what're you talking about?" Danny said, walking forwards. He could have sworn he heard the officer call the baby Matthew… As he got closer, it dawned upon him what was happening.

This little girl had died trying to get medicine for her baby brother. Or something of the like.

A residual haunting. Danny sighed. It was his worst fear that he would end up like this one day, trapped in the last moments of his life, trying to reconcile for what he did.

"Yes, you did," Danny said, playing along with the girl. "Now, can I have him?"

"Why?" the girl asked. Her eyes began to glow dangerously. Danny could feel her power building with her anger. "Why would you do that when Elijah's so _sick?_" Danny stepped back, the dress the girl was wearing finally catching Danny's attention.

She couldn't have been _older_ than twelve… but she looked like she popped out of a 1930's history book.

"Now, now," Danny said one hand behind his back, "I just want to take him to his mother. You can see him after that, I promise."

"NO YOU DON'T!!" the girl screeched, Danny jumping with surprise. Her anger had suddenly reached its boiling point, with Danny saying nothing more than a few simple sentences.

"What—?!" Danny shouted, a blinding white light filling the room. The infant, who was now on the floor, had begun wailing with terror, his screams echoing louder than the girl's cries.

Outside, the young mother buried her face into her husband's chest, her arm around her daughter's shoulders. The top floor of the apartment building's windows flashed a blinding light out of them, illuminating the area as bright as day.

The snow had begun to pick up in speed—

_CRAAASH!_

Glass shards from the windows suddenly rained down on them, and everyone ran out of the way, some of the officers crouching behind their cars for protection.

"Danny!" Sam cried without thinking. Tucker hit her hard in the leg – and then immediately regretted it. Sam, whose legs were already freezing, doubled over in pain, clenching her teeth to keep from moaning. Tears squeezed out of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks as the pain seared through her.

"I'm so sorry Sam!" Tucker whispered, putting his arm around her. "C'mon, let's go see if we can help at all."

Up in the apartment, Danny was busy trying to get the infant out of the girl's clutches. When he had come in, he felt confidant. He _always_ won, no matter what the circumstances were. He couldn't think of _one time_ he had lost. Not in recent memory, anyway.

But he was beginning to have doubts. He had never once lost… but he also had never been malnourished and tired constantly, either. Not only that… but that was all before… _it_ happened.

Danny dove underneath the bed in the room, the infant in his arms. The baby had stopped crying and was instead sniffling, clearly out of breath. He had to get the baby out soon – or he would die.

"C'mon!" Danny hissed, trying to work up enough energy to shoot a powerful blast from his hands. He felt the palm of his hand warm up, and he aimed it up at the bottom of the—

_Ker-RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISH!!_ The bed had been torn away by the rogue little girl, who had transformed into a big, black, ominous entity. Danny wasn't sure what the hell was going on with this specter – but he didn't want to stick around and find out.

Danny felt the wind being knocked out of him as the girl shot some kind of energy blast straight at his chest, nearly knocking him through the floor. The baby began to cry again.

"Get… Get AWAY FROM ME!" Danny cried, shooting his own blast into the air. He soared up, trying to regain breath, when he realized that the apartment was on fire.

_What the hell?_ He thought. _What kind of demon _is _this?_

It was then that he realized he wasn't going to win. At least, he wasn't going to entirely beat this thing. So he took the baby in his arms and soared through the wall, going as far as he could away from the apartment.

He landed with a soft thud, clutching the baby in his arms. The police ran over to him when they realized what had happened.

"You!" they said, some of them shocked at who they were seeing. The young family looked over, still holding one another.

"I've got him," Danny said in a soft, tired voice. But as Danny showed them, he got the horrible realization that the baby had stopped screaming. As a matter of fact, the wiggly little worm in his arms had stopped moving altogether.

_No…_

The officer took the baby from his arms and opened the bundle, his face falling.

"He's… he's not breathing," the officer said, and began to run over to the ambulance. "He isn't breathing!"

Danny stood, dumbfounded, watching the young mother ran over to the officer, tears streaming down her tired face, begging to see her son. The EMTs took the baby into the back of the ambulance, apparently trying to revive him.

_This can't be happening!_

"You! You're under arrest!" An officer said, and Danny realized he was completely surrounded.

"What? What did I do?" he said, startled. "I just _saved_ that baby from that crazy spirit!"

"That doesn't matter that you're _wanted_ man!" another officer (the head officer, apparently,) said, stepping up to him. "Danny Phantom, or should I say, _Danny Fenton_, you're under arrest by the state of Minnesota." Danny stared at him, his remorse and anger building inside him.

_No, no, control it,_ his mind pleaded. _This is the reason they think you're dangerous! Your emotions and your powers are connected – control them!_

But Danny _couldn't_ control it. His hands clenched into fists, his breaths increasing in speed.

"If you come quietly, it'll look better for you," the officer said, approaching him. Danny was still staring at the ground.

_This officer clearly has no idea what he's talking about, _Danny thought, all rational thought being shoved into the back of his head. _I just saved that baby!_

_No you didn't,_ another side said. _That baby is as good as dead. You **lost.** You lost a fight, and a tiny baby boy just paid the price._

More thoughts flew around his mind, causing his anger to build even more. His entire body began to heat up, so much that he actually started to glow. The officer stopped approaching him, and instead pulled out his gun, steadying it on him.

"I'm warning you," he warned. "Don't you even think of—"

"WHAT?" Danny yelled suddenly, spinning around to face the officer, his fluorescent green eyes illuminating the man's face.

Tucker and Sam gasped from where they were half hiding, half standing near a police cruiser.

Danny stormed over to the officer, and, without thinking about it, clutched the man's throat, lifting him into the air.

"Or you'll do _what_?" Danny asked, his lips playing into a slightly insane grin. "Arrest me? _Kill_ me? There's nothing worse that this stupid government can _do_ to me!" All the while, Danny's hands glowed a bright green, his grip getting tighter and tighter. The other officers backed away, some of them yelling into cell phones and walkie-talkies. The man's face contorted into obvious pain, his air way being cut off by Danny's glowing fist.

"You think you can do _anything ELSE?_" Danny bellowed, his entire body glowing with rage. "You think—"

"DANNY!"

Sam's arms grasped onto Danny's waist, holding him tightly. Danny stopped, surprised at the sudden grip. His grip loosened around the officer's neck and the man fell the three or so feet to the ground, breathing heavily as he massaged his red neck. Danny slowly lowered after him, Sam burying her face into his back. The snow was still falling around them, dusting the place over.

Danny's rage subsided, and he slowly transformed back into his human self. He looked around at all the terrified faces, the officers who clearly wanted nothing than to be as far as they could be.

He couldn't believe it.

_I really **am** a monster.  
_

* * *

**Edit:** _I've done it! I just finished this story. I have it all typed up in a master file. I've just been having issues with some of the middle parts, the end, and how to end the epilogue. But it's all done, and it's 90 glorious pages, not counting the epilogue, which is about 10 pages or so. Now all that's left is posting the chapters, which I'll probably do every Friday now that I can. Or every other Friday. Which would you prefer? This also frees me up to work on other things.  
_

_ Ahh, the big battle scene. I remember coming up with this aaaaages ago. Just as a warning, the next chapter gets a little... lemon-y. It's not graphic or anything, but, just so you know. Wow. Haven't written one of those in forever. Anyway, the plot is starting to tie together, I suppose. :) I still have to write the middle of the story, hah. Oh, the fic I talked about in the last chapter is posted, although now it's called _**Recovery**_ as opposed to _**Recovered**_. And for all you people who read _**Ticking,** _once I flesh out the rest of the story, I'll be posting that one under the title of _**Misplaced Heartbeat**. _It's not going to be very long, but it will exist eventually._  
**Shibby-One**


	11. Chapter Eleven

_**WARNING:** lemon-flavored contents. But nothing graphic/explicit. I don't have that kind of talent.  
_

* * *

**Twilight Walking  
Chapter Eleven  
**

* * *

"I think it would be best if I let him cool off," Tucker said in a soft voice to Sam. The trio had run off immediately after, Danny turning them invisible and taking them as far into the woods as humanly possible. They had found a small cave in the side of a mountain, and had created a small fire.

Danny was sitting on a pile of blankets in front of the fire, staring into it, lost in his thoughts.

"I agree," Sam said. "Maybe he should spend some time with me; I think maybe I can find a way to get him out of it."

"Yeah… and maybe he'll tell you about… whatever happened to him," Tucker said slowly. He pulled his jacket on tighter.

"You sure you'll be alright?" Sam asked. "It's awfully dark out."

"Don't worry, there's another cave nearby," Tucker said. He smiled. "And besides, even though my cell's been dead for over a year, if I really had to, I bet I could find some use for the parts if I got into real trouble." Sam smiled.

"Good luck," Tucker said as he pulled his backpack on and headed out, leaving them alone. Sam re-entered the cave and sat down next to Danny, lying back against the cave wall.

"…you okay?" she asked after a time. Danny didn't respond. Sam wondered if she should get closer to him, but before she could wonder further, Danny moved his arm to make space beside him.

The sixteen-year-old curled up beside him, laying her head on his shoulder. She felt Danny put his arm around her shoulders and rested his head on top of hers, breathing slowly.

This had been their world for awhile now. Ever since she finally found a way to tell him how she felt, she could feel herself falling deeper in love with him every day. She knew – as she had known for years – that this was the person she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. If she could live for almost two years out in the wilderness with him, and still love him, she knew she really was meant to be with him.

They loved each other so much, that they sometimes considered themselves 'married', and even said when they got out of the country; they'd get legally married and go back to school, so they could make a life for themselves, and each other.

Sam could feel the tears running down his face. She wasn't fond of this Danny. She wanted the confident, optimistic Danny she had known all her life. The one who had slowly been reappearing, even after being exiled from the country. But it was the apathetic, recluse Danny who was here with her at the moment.

Sam turned to him, putting her hand on his cheek.

"Danny…" she said softly, repositioning herself so she was level with his face. "I know… this is so hard, but… please…" She put her forehead against his, and allowed him to wrap his arms around her body. She put her hands on his chest, breathing slowly.

"Sam, I'm sorry," Danny said finally.

"Sorry for what?" she asked.

"Sorry for… for dragging you into this," he replied. "For becoming half-ghost. For becoming… a monster. Someone who can't even control his emotions or his powers. I… I could have _killed_ that man, a-and…" he trailed off as Sam kissed him gently.

"You have to take your mind off of that for now," she said softly, pushing his long hair out of his eyes. She closed her eyes and kissed him again, moving her hands from his chest to around his neck.

As he kissed her back, a silent agreement passed between them. Even though no words were said, they both knew.

Danny lay down on the blanket pile, pulling Sam with him. She broke away from him and put her forehead to his, her eyes closed. She still had her arms around his neck, and he was still holding on to her. She listened to him breath for awhile, and then opened her eyes to look at him.

"I love you," she said softly. Danny smiled at her.

"I love you, too…" She closed her eyes and kissed him again, this time running her hands from around his neck, underneath the collar of his shirt, over his shoulders. She could feel his coarse skin, the large scars, cuts and bruises created from living in the wilderness for so long.

How much longer could they take such a beating? How much longer could they go before their bodies gave out from pure exhaustion, or from being beaten upon by the harsh weather?

A chill ran down Sam's spine as Danny ran his hands underneath the back of her tanktop, up her back, pulling it up as he went. She pulled closer to him, her legs getting tangled with his, kissing him again, not letting him go. She ran her fingers through his hair, tears rolling down her cheeks. Danny pulled away from her and instead kissed her neck gently, and as he did, she pulled his shirt off right over his head.

_I love you, so much… And I believe… that we'll be alright.  
_

* * *

"…In other news, Danny Fenton was seen for the first time in a little more than a year and a half earlier today in Minnesota," the news anchor said, shifting his papers. "A mysterious spirit was attacking a young family in an apartment in a small farming town. Fenton, as Phantom, went in and tried to rescue a trapped infant, named Matthew Cartell. However, his attempts were futile, as when he brought the baby out, he was dead. Fenton then proceeded to attack and nearly choke to death the Police Captain, John McNeil. He and his comrades flew into the woods, where the police have been searching all night."

Jazz hugged her pillow close to her chest, staring at the television screen. Jack was sitting next to her, furiously writing in a book, and had looked up at the mention of Danny. Maddie had been in the kitchen when she heard.

The family of three stared at the television, shocked and dumbfounded at what they were seeing and hearing.

Hearing about Danny wasn't uncommon – every once in awhile, they caught snippets and whispers here and there about Phantom appearing in random towns in random states.

But… this was the first time they'd _seen_ a picture of him since he left.

Who they saw on the screen… didn't look like the Danny they knew. A picture had been shown that had been caught of Danny right before the three of them disappeared into the woods.

His short, dark hair had grown very long, draping into his eyes and grazing his shoulders every so often. His hair seemed to be tied back with an elastic band. His face had become thinner, and his body had become noticeably taller and lankier than it had been before. His face, his body, his eyes… he seemed so much _emptier_ than he did before. The bright, ecstatic eyes they had seen before were gone.

All over Amity Park, people were calling their friends and others, telling them to turn on the news _immediately._ Valerie was doing her homework when her father switched on the news.

"Dad, I'm working!" Valerie said in protest, but Damon remained silent. He just stared at the screen, having received a call from a coworker.

"Dad, what…" her words died in her throat as she saw the image flashed onto the screen.

"…first time in a little more than a year and a half earlier today in Minnesota," the anchor was saying. Valerie's jaw dropped to the floor, her eyes trained on the television. All thoughts of her homework left her mind as she stared at the screen.

"Danny…" she whispered, shaking her head. The same thoughts passed through her mind went through the minds (and out the mouths) of hundreds of people all over Amity Park, all over the state, and all over the country.

_He's alive._

"Did you see the news? Danny's _alive!_"

"He's not dead!"

"He's in Minnesota!"

"He's alive? Did you hear about it?" All over the city people were talking, spreading the news rapidly. It created excitement in their classmates, people whispering and talking excitedly to one another.

"Oh, my Lord," Valerie said, shaking. She couldn't believe that those three were alive. They had been left for dead, everyone thinking that there was no way they could survive out in the wilderness alone.

But Valerie realized how ridiculous that idea was. There were three of the most capable people she knew; and, even more importantly, they all loved each other so much. There was no way they'd allow themselves to fall victim to the elements. They had the capabilities to persevere…

"He's alive!" Jack said in excitement, Maddie walking over and placing her hands on his shoulders. "Maddie, he's alive!" Maddie stared at the television screen, tears running down her cheeks.

"I know, Jack, I know," she said, a smile never straying from her lips. Jazz looked up at her parents, back to the screen.

"Oh, I…" Maddie trailed off as her crying intensified, Jack stood up and put his arms around her. He just allowed her tears to come, knowing that he himself felt like he was about to cry. They're son – they're only son, their light, their baby boy – he was _alive._ After almost two years of worry, of wonder, of prayers, he was alive.

It was the greatest news that any of them could have hoped for.

"Did you hear?"

"Yeah! They're alive!"

"The three of them!"

"They're _alive!_"

* * *

_I've been updating insanely over the last few days because I've been on a school vacation. I also just had surgery, so I've been on pain killers and thus, unable to drive myself anywhere for amusement. So I've been writing, and I decided to update this. If you haven't heard, I finally finished this story, in it's 99 pages. But I'll be posting it steadily while working on other things. And yes, the random lemon-ness does actually have a reason. In the next chapter, you get to find out just what happened to Danny that made everyone think he was so dangerous. Dun dun dun. Anyway, if you're bored, check out my series of one-shots titled _**Continuus**_, or check out my favorite stories for the one-shot/drabble fics written by Chaos Dragon and cordria, for starters. Interesting stuff._  
**Shibby-One**


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Twilight Walking  
Chapter Twelve  
**

* * *

"…It was right before the exile."

"Hmm?" Sam asked, opening one eye. She had just been on the verge of sleep, and was wondering if she was dreaming or not. She could feel Danny shift and she opened both eyes, looking at his face. His arms were wrapped around her bare back and shoulders, their blankets pulled up to their necks. He had said it very softly – so softly, she wasn't even sure if he had said it at all.

"What?" Sam asked. Danny sighed.

"I… was fighting a ghost," he said. He opened his eyes to look at her. "It was almost routine, like the ghost fights were back then. There were these twin girls who were being attacked by some ghost – he knew me, I remember, because he knew some ghost we had dealt with before.

"It was one of the first times that my emotions had been directly tied to my powers. I… I got scary. Just like I did earlier with that cop. I got so angry at this ghost, that when I destroyed him, I… I almost killed one of the girls. The other girl was screaming and crying, calling me a monster and a freak. It… it changed me, I think. That was the incident… that deemed me dangerous."

Sam was dumbfounded. How had she never heard of this? How had this happened without her or Tucker hearing about it?

"Are you serious?" She asked, staring at him with a concerned face. "Why hadn't I ever heard of this? Or Tucker? Aren't we supposed to be your friends?"

"I didn't want you to leave me," Danny replied. Sam just stared at him. "I didn't want to scare you guys away from me. When I returned to you guys that night, I shut it out of my mind… but I always relived it at night, in the Dreams. I… I was afraid of what I had become." Sam just shook her head, disbelief shining in her eyes.

"Wait… what about the 'cemetery' you always mention? The one that you said—"

"It's what could have been," Danny said, interjecting his words into the middle of her sentence. "I kept seeing their graves, with the words 'Murdered by Phantom' written across them in blood… That's why I was always afraid of them, afraid I'd see that on a grave somewhere…." Danny sighed. "…I just…"

"Danny… that's ridiculous," she said, laying her head on his chest, closing her eyes. "Danny, Tucker and I had the choice of testifying against you. We could have taken that chance and claimed that you were a dangerous monster, said all these lies to get ourselves out of this nonsense. But we didn't. Because we're in it _with_ you." Danny wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

"Thank you," Danny said softly. "I… don't want to continue like this. Sam, when we get out of here, when we get out of this country… We _will_ get married. We'll go back to school, and put all of this behind us. I won't let all this affect me."

"You don't have to wait until we're out," Sam said, not opening her eyes. "You can start now." She giggled lightly. "_I'm_ the sour one, not you. You're the optimist; the one who's always assuring it'll be alright. I've missed that Danny; he's the one I love."

"Oh, well, if _that's_ how you feel about it," Danny said sarcastically, letting go of Sam and rolling over, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Sam laughed and got up on her knees, leaning over him to see his face.

"Nope, nope, I'm not coming back," he said stubbornly. "You'll just have to freeze."

"You suck," Sam said, crawling away from the little makeshift bed. She grabbed Danny's long army jacket and wrapped it around herself so she could stand up. She wandered over to her clothes and pulled them back on, keeping Danny's army jacket on. She walked over to him and stood before him.

"Y'know, I could leave right now and go and get Tucker, and you'd be left without a jacket," she said, putting her hands in the pockets. Danny grinned devilishly and grabbed her ankle, pulling her down beside him.

"You wouldn't," Danny said, pulling her face close to his. "Because you're tired. Besides, I know Tucker's fine. He always is. And we'll be fine, too."

"That's the Danny I remember," Sam said, kissing his cheek.

* * *

"Seen Vlad yet?" 

"Surprisingly, no. We've been in Wisconsin all of seven minutes and no sign of him yet. Wow."

"I thought he'd be camped out at the border when we got here."

"Well, he _is_ in his late forties. His mind isn't the best anymore, y'know."

Tucker and Danny laughed at Sam's joke as they fought through a ridiculous amount of undergrowth, having passed by a sign that said _Welcome to Wisconsin!_ just a few minutes earlier.

Something had changed amongst the three of them. When Tucker had returned that morning, so many days ago, Danny pulled him aside and told him what the Dreams were about, how he almost killed an innocent girl. Although Tucker was a little taken aback (and a little more scared of Danny's growing powers), he accepted him and vowed (with Sam) to find a way to help develop Danny's powers so that he couldn't endanger people anymore. The group had overall become more optimistic, and spirits were high, even for Sam's standards. Instead of Danny being the depressing one, Sam had taken back her role, although she wasn't quite the way she used to be.

But there was something else, too. Something had happened, Tucker was sure, while he was away that one night. Nothing was said about it when he got back, but he had the feeling he knew what it was. There was something there that wasn't there before. Tucker was almost certain of what had happened (and was, quite honestly, a little freaked out about it, too.)

But whatever it was, he was glad for it. Danny's spirits had lifted so much that he was practically running ahead of them all of the time. He would do things that he used to do – and things that he never used to do. Sometimes he would come up to Sam and lock her pinky with his and pull her along, and sometimes he would pretend to push Tucker off a rock and into a river. He would smile valiantly and have bursts of energy that were indescribable.

Things, finally, seemed to be going their way.

Except for one thing.

"Sam?" Tucker said, noticing she had fallen behind. The girl was hunched over, holding onto the side of a tree, her other hand clutching her chest. She was coughing extremely hard, and fell to her knees to catch her breath.

"Sam!" both boys yelled, running over to her. Sam's condition had worsened. Whatever cough she had was making her weaker, and possibly may be killing her. It was obvious she had some kind of virus, but none of them knew what it could be.

"I'm okay," Sam said breathlessly, standing up. "Really, I am, I swear." They continued on.

"When and if we get to Vlad's," Danny said in a low voice to Tucker, "if he offers us in, we should bring Sam in and have her checked out."

"Are you sure about that?" Tucker said, looking behind him at Sam. "What if Vlad turns us in? Or even worse, what if we go in and the police are already there?"

"What choice do we have?" Danny asked. "Sam's really sick. She needs a doctor. Or at least a warm house to be in."

Sam followed behind the boys, her arms wrapped around herself. Her jacket was running thin. She was so glad, though, that she had gotten thick pants. Although she felt bad for the campers that Danny had stolen them from, Sam couldn't believe how much warmer she felt.

Not only that, but there had been five bucks in the pocket. ("Now that Sam is richer than both of us again, we can continue," Tucker had said sarcastically.)

Sam breathed heavily, trying to steady herself so she wouldn't have a coughing spell.

There was something that only she knew; a secret she was hiding from the boys, something she knew would completely throw all of them off. When she herself had first realized it a few days earlier, at first she was shocked. But, after a few more days, it became obvious. She wanted to keep it a secret as long as she could. She didn't want anything that could put a damper on the great spirits they had been in. It was because of the newly lifted spirits of Danny that they had gotten to Wisconsin as quickly as they had.

This… could ruin everything.

Or motivate them more.

Sam was afraid of which way it would be taken.

Danny blasted a few of the smaller shrubs that were in front of them, running ahead. Tucker sighed and stopped, putting his _extremely_ heavy bag down on the ground for a while.

"Dear God, this bag is so heavy," he murmured. Sam walked up beside her friend, still lost in her thoughts and worries. Tucker saw the look of fear and confusion on her face and tapped her shoulder gently.

"Sam? You alright?" he asked, taking her by surprise. She glanced up, and in the second before she straightened to face him, Tucker could have _sworn_ he had seen a look of… _excitement_ in her eyes. Like there was something amazing about to happen.

"Sam? What is it?" he asked, putting his hand on her shoulder. Sam shook her head and continued forward.

"It's nothing," she said, stepping over a puddle carefully. "C'mon, we'd better hurry up to Danny before he leaves us behind." She continued on, pushing brambles and low branches away from her face, her bag swinging against her hips. Tucker stared after her.

_It couldn't be… no, couldn't it?_ He thought. _No, surely she would say something…_

Sam caught up to Danny, who had paused to figure out how to cross a small, iced over creek. Sam entwined her arm and her fingers in his, leaning against him and closing her eyes.

"Sam? What is it?" he asked. She shook her head.

"It's nothing."

* * *

Jazz couldn't even believe what she was seeing.

She had been minding her own business, going to her early morning class as usual, when she saw a (rather large) group of Casper High students standing outside of the school. Naturally, curiosity got the better of her, and she wandered over, wondering what it was they were looking at.

Her jaw dropped at the sight.

Someone had spray painted a big patch of the brick walls jet black, and over it, done a white "DP" symbol, with the words "ALWAYS REMEMBER" above in big, blocky letters. All of the teachers were outside, along with a large portion of the student body. It appeared as if they were calling the police.

Jazz stood by, wondering who they were going to pin the blame on. And wondering if anyone was going to protest against the graffiti; it was clearly someone on Danny's side.

Surprisingly, the only people who had a problem with it were the teachers. All of the students outside were cheering and agreeing, especially students in the junior class. Some of the teachers were even whispering behind their hands, big smiles on their faces. The taboo that had been placed on Danny's name had been temporarily lifted.

Someone spotted her.

"Jazz! Jazz! Did you _see_ this?" Someone called. Suddenly, Jazz felt herself being pulled over to the wall, and saw it up close.

"My Lord…" Jazz whispered. After a year and _more _than a half of him being gone, it seemed as if no one could contain themselves any longer, especially with him being on the news a few weeks prior.

"Miss Fenton, do you know _anything_ about this?" Lancer said, storming over and eyeing her. Jazz shook her head.

"Honestly, Mr. Lancer, why would I graffiti Casper High?" she asked in an incredulous tone. "That's so… dumb."

"_Clearly,_ someone else doesn't think it's that dumb," Lancer replied, his anger building. The police had been called, and were showing up. But the students remained outside, more students pouring out of the building. There were many students peering out from classroom windows, along with teachers, wondering what was happening.

"Alright, alright, we'll take it from here," one of the officers said upon exiting his cop car. The National Guardsmen stationed outside the school were also pointing and talking about the large symbol on the face of the building. They stopped, however, when they saw the police officers.

"When we find out who did this," the officer warned, "they're in a _lot_ of trouble." Lancer couldn't contain his suspicions any longer, and pointed to the group closest to the front.

"It was probably one of them!" he said suddenly. "They're the junior class; the same class those three were part of! I'm almost _certain_ of it!"

"Everyone, get back inside!" the officer commanded, other officers pulling up to order everyone back in. At first, everyone kind of lingered, and then slowly started filing in. Jazz was escorted off the property and was told to "get to class".

As Jazz was walking away, someone noticed her, walking rather forlornly to school.

"Always remember!" someone suddenly shouted from the crowd. And just as suddenly, all the students broke out into cheers, running towards the school building. Most of the teachers just laughed and followed suit. Jazz turned around and saw the students, and when she did, they cheered _louder,_ starting a chant of "Remember! Remember!"

Jazz's heart soared. She couldn't believe how much support Danny had gained.

In the next few days, these mysterious "Always Remember" symbols started appearing everywhere; on the sides of buildings, bridge garters, street signs. Bill boards had become haphazard spray painted signs, and the saying "Always remember!" became a very popular one amongst the students of Casper High. Jazz had become a mini-celebrity, and although the students had been strictly forbidden to mention Danny, Sam or Tucker, talk of them became the main topic.

One day, while walking down the hallway early in the morning, Lancer saw a group of students crowded around a locker in one part of the hallway. When Lancer approached, they scattered, talking and whispering of things Lancer couldn't hear. When he turned to see what they were doing, he couldn't believe his eyes.

Danny's old locker, which had since been given to someone else, had writing all over it. Notes, messages, and of course, "Always remember!" in many different hand-writings. As he surveyed the halls, he noticed that Tucker and Sam's lockers had the same decorations, also with the words "Always remember!". When he ordered the lockers be cleaned, it became apparent that the doors had been scribbled on with permanent markers, along with bleach pens – both of which were impossible to scrub off. The students who currently donned the lockers were filled with pride, knowing the three "outcasts" once had their lockers.

The country had come up with a catchy little rhyme about Danny, warning of the 'dangers' he could bring if one ran into him. It soon became a revised rhyme, first spoken during junior/senior lunch, and then soon a common rhyme, also scribbled everywhere.

Students were convinced that Danny, Sam and Tucker were in hiding from the "demons of the government", as they were soon known, which correlated with the rhyme they made up.

" '_Oh, Danny Phantom is a little de-e-mon,  
Better keep him hidden or they'll beat 'im!!  
Loved and cherished in every place,  
They'd better get home soon and save face!' "_

It wasn't very clever, but it became the most popular thing in Casper High overnight. Soon, the "Always remember!" fever broke into surrounding towns, seeping into high schools and into student-run events. Although most adults (employed by the government, no less,) remained silent and stern, many of them agreed with the little rhyme and the sudden "free Danny!" buzz. The entire situation was one that was grossly unjust, but… what could they do about it?

* * *

_I'm trying so desperately hard to keep them in character, so forgive me if I slip up. __  
_


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Note: **_I just went through hell to get this to upload into the Document Manager. Something weird is going on with my account, and there's no way to contact the site administrators (that I could find). It's like they don't expect problems or something._

* * *

**Twilight Walking  
Chapter Thirteen**

* * *

"Oh, hell." 

Sam could see through the trees from where she was kneeling on the ground. She had suddenly gotten very sick very fast, and proceeded to vomit all over the forest floor near a dead log. While using the log as an armrest to steady herself, she suddenly noticed a clearing someway along the woods… and noticed the all-to-familiar brick walls and wire fences of a particular rich business man.

"What? Are you gonna be sick again?" Danny asked, kneeling next to her. He pulled her hair back behind her head and allowed her to lie against him.

"In the trees… I think its Vlad's place."

"_What?!_" Danny exclaimed, peering through the trees. Sure enough, he could faintly make out the outlines of the man's manor.

They had been camping near him the entire time! They'd only been in Wisconsin for a few days, but it was the very middle of winter. Snow had fallen a few nights earlier, and they had already had one scare of someone nearly freezing to death. (Sam, dizzy after being sick, had passed out in the snow and was found an hour later, nearly frozen.)

"Should we go to his house?" Tucker asked. Sam shook her head quickly, causing her to wobble.

"N-no way," she stammered. "I don't care how sick you guys think I am, I _refuse_ to get _near_ that man's house."

"We might not have a choice if we don't get this fire lit now," Tucker said, his eyes glancing to the sky. "Another snowstorm is going to hit, I can tell."

"Yeah, it's gloomy-looking," Danny said, shivering violently. To somebody whose body is already colder than other people, this cold weather and the snow was like instant death.

Sam wiped her face with a blanket and curled up next to Danny, trying to use her frail body to warm his.

They sat in silence for awhile, marveling in the snow around them. Even though it was mid-afternoon, it was already dark.

"Danny, can you help me?" Tucker asked, a bit of irritation in his voice. Danny crawled over, holding his hands up to keep the tiny flame from blowing out. Sam looked around, holding her arms around her body.

"Hey, guys? I'll be right back," she said, standing up.

"Hell no," Tucker said, going over to her. "Yesterday you almost died out there, Sam. There is no way you're going out there."

"I can take care of _myself_, Tucker," Sam said, the same irritation cropping up in her voice.

"Sam, please," Danny pleaded, throwing paper onto the tiny fire.

"I understand that you're concerned, but I'll be _right back,_" she said. "It's not like I'm going to be gone long."

"Sam—"

"I'm _going!_" And with that, she darted into the woods. Danny jumped up, ready to run after her.

"SAM!" he cried, but she didn't answer. He shook his head, running over to his bag. "That fucking girl!" he cursed under his breath. Tucker blinked, a bit shocked at the words rolling out of Danny's mouth. Even as a teenager, when everyone swore every chance they got, Danny was never one to. Sam, on the other hand, was a habitual curser since middle school; and Tucker just never seemed to get angry anymore.

But when Danny was pissed off, he swore. Not like saying 'hell' or 'damn', (which they all did,) but when he was _really_ angry, every other word out of his mouth was a curse.

"Danny, calm down," Tucker said, walking over to his friend. Danny stood up straight, looking up at Tucker.

"Tucker, she will _die_ out there, and I'm _not_ gonna _fucking_ let her," he said defiantly. "What does she even want to _do_ out there, anyway?" He picked up his bag, swung it onto his shoulder, and ran into the dark woods after Sam, his footsteps crunching over the frozen leaves.

The snow began to fall.

"Fuck," Tucker said, putting his hands over his face.

* * *

Sam could barely see. 

Right after Danny caught up with her, the snow turned into a full-blown blizzard, both blinding and freezing the two fugitives. Event though they were in the woods, the snow was being blown in by the edges of the woods, the snow and ice pelting at them like daggers.

As they clung to each other, fighting their way back, Sam's foot got caught in an exposed root, and she pulled both of them down to the ground.

"Are you alright?" Danny asked, kneeling in the snow. Sam nodded, her long hair being blown around by the wind and snow. Danny stood up, grabbing Sam's arms to pull her up.

But her body wasn't responding. Knee deep in the snow, Sam's legs weren't moving at all. Sam's heart nearly stopped as she realized she couldn't feel her legs.

"Danny!" she called in fear. "M-my legs! I can't move!" Danny immediately dropped down next to her, wrapping his arms around her body. The wind was nipping at their faces and hands, the only parts of them exposed. Danny's ears and nose had lost all feeling by now, and his hands were slowly following suit, along with his legs. But he refused to let Sam go.

They were strong individuals; both of them had extraordinary prowess over the environment. Whether it be Sam's physical fitness, or Danny's ghost powers, normally, they'd be able to fight this.

But the weather had been beating at them for _so long…_

"Danny," Sam whispered, eyes closed, tears on her cheeks, "I don't wanna die."

"I know," he said back, holding her tighter. "Sam, I know. I don't want to die, either. And I don't want Tucker to die. Oh, my God, he's back there alone… I hope he has enough supplies to keep the fire lit… Sam, don't worry, we'll make it… And so will Tucker, and we'll find him, and we'll be fine. Okay?" Danny waited for a reply, but didn't get one. "Sam? SAM?"

Sam remained unmoving in his arms. Her head rested on his chest, her lips parted. Her arms were lying loosely by her sides, her eyes closed. Her skin looked paler than normal, almost bluish in tone. Danny squeezed her tighter, trying to warm her up.

"Sam? Sam, wake up! You _have_ to stay awake!" But it was no use. The teenaged girl remained limp and unmoving in his arms. Danny shook his head in disbelief, bending down closer to her. He moved her head from his chest up to the nook between his chin and his neck, his hand on the back of her head. He could still feel her breathing, still feel her heartbeats. But her heartbeats were slow and few in between… _Ba-bump... ba-bump…_ It terrified him.

The storm continued around them, snow falling over them. Eventually, however, the winds died down, and instead, there was a steady snowfall. Vlad's manor could be seen fairly well from where they were, looking like a castle out of a fairy tale. Not that either of them saw it.

By that time, Danny's head rested on top of Sam's, his eyes closed, his arms lying around Sam's body. They were lying down in the snow, a thin layer of the whiteness already over their bodies, unmoving and silent.

* * *

_I've had next to no time to exist lately, let alone do anything else. Ugh. Also, I had to upload this as a .doc, which means for some reason it won't center anything. Saving it as a .html wouldn't upload. I don't know what the hell is going on, but it's pissing me off!  
Thanks for the reviews, though!_


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Twilight Walking  
Chapter Fourteen **

* * *

"…extremely warm, maybe we should open a…"

"…Don't forget the blankets for that room there…"

"…where on earth did…"

"Oh! I found…"

"…Vlad, the doctor's here."

At the name _Vlad_, Danny forced himself into complete consciousness, although keeping his eyes closed. Someone was standing at the foot of his bed (he was in a bed?), talking to someone else.

"Oh, good, he is? Perfect. Where is he?"

"Outside. Where should we send him?"

"To the girl's room – Samantha, I believe. She was the one who was the sickest out of all three of them."

"What about the boys?"

"One of them woke up hours ago, and young Daniel here isn't in nearly as horrible condition as the girl. He's just a bit wind chilled is all. He's lucky he didn't get frostbitten."

Danny suddenly realized that he… he was _warm._ A thick blanket was laid over his body, with a soft mattress beneath him, and a pillow. He was wearing a (clean) shirt and (clean) pants underneath his blanket, and his entire body felt as if a layer had been peeled off of him. He was _clean, _for the first time in months.

"I think he's waking up."

As if on cue, Danny opened his eyes. His vision was blurry and the bright lights in the room hurt his eyes. He put one arm over his eyes to shield them as the ceiling he was staring at came into focus.

When his vision cleared, the first person he saw was the last person he wanted to see. Ever.

_Vlad Masters._

"Ahh, you're awake," Vlad said, smiling. "For awhile there, we didn't think you were going to make it."

"Where… Am I… in your house?" Danny asked in a weak voice. Vlad was standing next to his bed, and he had been speaking to what appeared to be a nurse at the foot of his bed.

"Why, yes, you are," Vlad said. He suddenly turned to a maid who was leaving the room. "Meredith, please keep an eye on the doctor for me. I gave him _explicit_ instructions not to contact any authority or government, but if he so much reaches for a cell phone, I'm suing him for breach of contract." The maid nodded and hurried out of the room. He turned back to Danny and smiled.

"Have to keep my priorities straight," he said, leaning down close to Danny.

"Wait… what did you not want the doctor to do?" he asked.

"Why, turn you in, of course," Vlad said. "According to the law, if anyone so much as gets a hint as to where you are, they're supposed to turn you in as fast as possible. Of course, they also get paid a mighty sum," Vlad added. "Which is why only my most trusted employees have any idea what's going on up here. I've given very explicit instructions to the rest of my staff that this hall is _off limits._"

"…Why are you doing this?" Danny asked. "Why are you helping us? _You're_ part of the reason I was exiled!"

"But I didn't mean to be," Vlad replied. "Besides, I couldn't just leave you and Samantha and Tucker to freeze out there. By the time we brought you back here, you and the girl were so far gone that we had to tell your friend Tucker that it was too late." Danny blinked and stared at Vlad.

"…For how long was that the truth?" he asked slowly. Vlad shrugged.

"Most of the night. But then _you_, of course, with your powerful ghost powers and healing abilities, you started warming up and coming back. My nurses and maids all thought it was a miracle – _I_ knew better. Although, I'm not so sure about your lady friend," he said thoughtfully. But Danny couldn't get past the part about Tucker.

For several hours, Tucker believed his best friends had… died.

Vlad smiled and walked away.

"I'll bring you news of your friends, once it comes to me," he said in the doorway. "For now, just get some rest and recuperate." And he closed the door. Danny was sitting up now, fully awake. He looked out the window and noticed the sun was coming up.

"Umm, excuse me," Danny said to the nurse who was leaving the room. She turned around and walked over.

"Yes?" she asked. Danny swallowed.

"Umm… My friend, Tucker, does he… does he know I'm not dead?" the nurse thought for a moment, then shook her head.

"No, we sedated him so he could sleep a couple hours ago. It was right after that we noticed you weren't going to die."

"Was he… okay?" Danny asked, not sure how to phrase the question. The nurse sighed heavily, rubbing her temple with her hand.

"Well… he was silent for awhile, I suppose… Denial, anger, blame, all of those typical symptoms of grief… The poor boy. Well, what would you do if some stranger came up to you and said 'I'm sorry, but your friends are going to die'?"

Danny remained silent. He didn't know.

* * *

"…That… was the worst night of my life. Ever," Sam said, braiding her hair. It shined and was straight and clean for the first time in a very long time. Her long, uneven, straggly hair had been cut so all the strands were the same length, and given a long clean. She had been in the bathtub for nearly two hours that morning.

While Sam was still extremely weak (and a bit delirious), she was doing much better – not that Danny was able to pay much attention.

He'd always thought Sam was beautiful – she just had this exotic look about her that he couldn't resist. But ever since they'd been on the run, the three of them hadn't really looked their best. They had grown and changed, but none of them had really noticed… until now.

Sam had gone from a short, skinny little fourteen-year-old girl… to a drop-dead gorgeous young woman. Neither of the boys had really noticed, since they were always wearing thick jackets and were never really clean.

But Sam had definitely blossomed in their year and a half out in the wilderness. When they had first seen her that morning, they thought she was someone else – Tucker had been convinced she was some supermodel who was staying in the manor.

"What's wrong with you two?" Sam asked, frowning. She let go of her hair and crossed her arms in front of her chest, sitting up in her bed. The boys looked at each other and sighed.

"Sam," Tucker started, "I know you're going to _kill_ us – especially me – for this, since I _know_ you value integrity and personality over looks, and Danny is your boyfriend or whatever, and I'm your best friend, but—"

"Out with it, Foley!" Sam cried.

"Sam – you are _hot._" Sam stared back at him, dumbfounded.

"_What_ did you just say?" she asked. Danny, although blushing profusely, sighed.

"He's right," Danny said. "I completely agree." Sam just shook her head.

"You're both mental," she said. "I'm not _hot_ in the least."

"_Au contraire_," Tucker said. "Sam, I know you may think we're just saying it because we're your friends, but believe me when I say this – and this is _me_ here – you are a babe."

"I hate you both," Sam said, and the boys laughed. The doctor had taken numerous blood samples and other tests, giving her more medicines than she had ever taken in her life. She felt like she was being poisoned. But she had to admit – she felt better than she had in the longest time.

Tucker was just grateful that his friends were _alive_. He'd woken up that morning, his heart heavy and filled with grief, thinking that he was the only one who made it, when Danny came _bounding_ into his room, jumping onto his bed and hugging him tightly – an action that surprised both boys, for Danny pulled back as soon as he had done it.

The days passed, and the three of them were honorary guests in the Masters manor. Although they rarely saw their host, Tucker and Danny knew he was always there, watching them somehow. Sam was too weak to venture out on her own with them. She was bedridden for the entire time they stayed in the Masters house.

A few nights later, Sam began getting sicker again, and was moved into another room by the nurse who had been helping her.

"There you go, dear," the nurse said, helping the weakened girl into the bed. Even though she really didn't want to, she couldn't help but feel so warm and cozy inside a real bed for a change. The sheets were so soft and warm… she had a pillow, and she was wearing a white nightgown that reached her feet. She still couldn't get used to the fact that she _had_ all of this to use, to keep herself comfortable.

For once in her life, she was glad that Vlad was there.

"I'm… I'm fine," she said weakly, rolling over. "Really… I… where's Danny?" The nurse just smiled down at her. Sam's eyelids fluttered, her delirium quieting on her lips. She had gotten extremely dizzy earlier in the day, and had been given a very powerful sleeping medication that made her seem a bit crazy.

The young nurse sighed.

"I'd hate to see a young mother so weak," she said softly. Sam's eyes opened. She rolled over slowly, blinking at the nurse.

"How'd you… How'd you know?" she asked, a bit startled.

"So, I'm right, aren't I?" she asked. Sam realized what had happened. The nurse had tricked her into admitting what she had known for weeks.

"…I'm afraid," Sam replied. Half conscious, she couldn't believe she was having this conversation with a complete stranger, in Vlad's house, no less. The nurse just stood up, pulling the curtains over the large windows. A low murmur came from the walls as the heat kicked in, warming the room right up.

Sam pushed herself up slowly, getting a little dizzy as she moved. The nurse grabbed a bottle from the nightstand and took a spoonful of the dark liquid.

"This'll help you keep from coughing to death at night," she said, pouring it into Sam's mouth. "And don't worry; it won't hurt your baby. It's specially made." Sam allowed the bitter medicine to go into her mouth, shuddering at the taste. She placed both hands on her stomach, looking up at the nurse.

"What's going to happen to me?" she asked. The nurse shrugged.

"Do they know? Those boys?" she asked. Sam shook her head. "Which one is the father?"

"The dark-haired one," she replied. "Danny."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm absolutely positive," she said. She grinned slyly. "Unless it was immaculate conception, heh. And I'm Jewish." When she again looked up at the nurse, Sam became aware that the nurse was out-of-focus. Sam slid back down under the covers, her breaths slowing. The room began to swirl around her, and the hum of the heater slowly put her to sleep.

* * *

_Considering it's been months since I wrote this, I think I may go back and revise bits I just don't like now. Hmm, maybe later. If you're familiar with me on dA then you know this past few weeks has been consumed with my school's production of Les Miserables, which is going wonderfully and horribly at the same time. We've had a crapload of mistakes and problems, but at the same time have been sold out twice and had 3 standing ovations. Anyway, yes, newest chapter, and I definitely think I shall go back and edit some. It's just... kinda cliche now. And a bit unrealistic... alas.  
_


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Twilight Walking**  
**Chapter Fifteen  
**

* * *

_Brrrrrrrr!! Brrrrrrrrr!_

Jazz opened her eyes and sat up, glaring at her cell phone. Why it was on, she had no idea – but she had forgotten to take it off vibrate. The screen was glowing bright green, and she picked it up, seeing who was calling.

It was Vlad's house.

"What does he _want_?" Jazz hissed, anger rising in her chest. She quickly opened the phone and pushed talk.

"Vlad, _what the fuck do you want?_" she spat into the phone, ice and malice dripping from every inch of her voice. She had no intentions of allowing that man to talk to her for more than a moment's time... But there was silence on the other end. "Well?"

"…Jazz?" a deep voice said. Jazz sat up, confused. "Jazz, is that you? This is Jazz Fenton, right?"

"…Yes," she said slowly. "Who's this? Who's calling from the Masters estate?"

"Jazz, it's _me,_" the voice said. It sounded tired and worn. "It's Danny."

Her heart stopped. Her breath died in her throat. She was speechless.

"…Danny?" she whispered, tears welling up in her cheeks. "Danny, is that… is that r-really y-y-you?"

"Yes, Jazz—are you crying?" he asked. Jazz nodded, not saying anything, even though Danny couldn't see her.

She could hear it now. His voice had gotten deeper since he'd been gone. But she could still recognize his voice, now that she heard it. She could almost hear him smiling on the other end.

"Danny, oh, my God, Danny…" Jazz said, her tears rolling down her cheeks, her breaths coming in gasps. "I-I can't b-b-believe I'm _h-hearing_ you right now."

"I know, Jazz," he said. "I just… I really wanted to hear your voice." Jazz suddenly became aware of the wiretaps in her room, and silently slipped off her bed to the floor beside her nightstand, the only place in the room farthest from the microphones.

"Jazz, your cell isn't being tapped, is it?" Danny asked suddenly, as if the thought had just occurred to him.

"N-no, they took my c-cell off the t-t-tap six months a-ago," Jazz said, her crying cutting her words. She could hear Danny sigh in relief.

"D-Danny, are you okay? How a-are y-you? How're S-Sam and Tucker? Wha-WHY are you at Vlad's? Where are you _g-g-going_?" Jazz's questions came suddenly, Danny a little bit shocked at their pace – but not surprised in the least. He knew that was going to happen when he called.

"Jazz… I'm… I'm… okay. Tucker is fine; he's the best out of all of us. Sam… she's been sick for awhile, but she's seeing a doctor right now. It started snowing really hard, and we were really weak… so we ended up at Vlad's, and…" he took a deep breath. "We're trying to get to Maine. To get out of the country."

Jazz sat in shock. _Is that what they're going to do?_ She thought. _They're insane._

"O-okay…" she said, sniffing and wiping her eyes. She just couldn't stop herself from crying. The siblings sat in a period of silence, Jazz wiping her eyes and smiling, Danny, on the other end, resting his head against the wall he was leaning against, just listening to her breathe and cry softly. He missed her so much. She had known him his entire life, and she had always supported him. She risked her entire future to help him…

"Jazz… I want to tell you something."

"Okay," she said, finally calming down. "What is it?"

"Please, Jazz… write this down or something," Danny said softly. Jazz grew concerned.

"Okay…" she said, grabbing a pencil and a notebook from her bedside table.

"Jazz… if… if we don't make it," Danny started, taking deep breaths, "…I want you to tell everyone this. Tell the school, the town, the country, the world."

"What is it, Danny?" Jazz asked, laying her writing utensil down on the floor. She stared at the window that was across from her, looking up at the glowing full moon that was way up in the sky.

Years from that moment, Jazz never forgot. Not even when she did tell everyone, the world, when she was broadcasted at that podium, and her picture on every screen around the globe. She hadn't needed to write it down. For years, until she died, those words echoed in her mind, always remembering the night when he told her.

"…Tell them… we never stopped trying."

* * *

"So… how long have you been pregnant?"

"Umm, only about a month and a few weeks, maybe," Sam replied to the new nurse. She nodded and wrote something down on her notepad.

"And you're certain about this?"

"Uh-huh," Sam replied. "Absolutely." The nurse took some more notes.

"Well, if you want my advice," the said, pushing her glasses up her nose, "you should stay here for the next seven and a half months until you're due."

"WHAT?!" Sam cried. "No way!" She pushed herself as far into the bed as she could, shaking her head. "No. Fuck that. I am _not_ staying here longer than necessary."

"I'm sorry, dear," the first nurse said, the one who had first figured out Sam's secret. "But it would be the best for you, your baby, and your friends if you stayed here until the spring."

"Not only that, but you have a bad case of… whatever it is you have," the second nurse said. "Your lab results were the most baffling things we've ever seen. We actually _don't know_ the exact name for your virus – although it's a lot like influenza and the rhino virus."

"But – we _can't_ stay here!" Sam protested. "I appreciate the help, but right now, _we're_ helping _Danny_. Besides, I know the only reason you're not turning us in right now is because of Vlad's orders, but at any moment he could change his mind! And then my baby would get taken away!"

"Sam, if you go back out there, you're baby might not even be _born!_" The nurse replied. "As a matter of fact, I _know_ it wouldn't be born. You would have a miscarriage, or it would be stillborn. And you could get very hurt and even _sicker_ if that were to happen – especially someone in your condition!"

"So be it!" Sam countered. Both nurses stared at her, shocked. "I'd rather my baby be dead than in the clutches of _this_ government!"

"What about those boys?" the first (more timid) nurse said. "When are you planning on telling them?"

"When it becomes obvious that I'm pregnant," Sam said, breathing slowly, calming down. She couldn't let her anger get the best of her. "Right now, we have to focus on Danny. I know maybe _you _don't understand that, but we _have_ to. When it becomes blatantly obvious that I'm pregnant and _not_ just gaining weight, I'll tell them. But it's not _necessary_ that they know. Not yet."

The nurses looked at each other, then sighed.

Little did they know who was hovering outside of the door the entire time.

Danny was going to go in and check on her, but he stopped when he heard that the nurse was in there – and another nurse that he didn't know. Curious to hear what kind of virus she had, he decided to listen… and heard more than he could even imagine.

Sam… was _pregnant?_ A sixteen-year-old exile, who had been traveling across the country from northern California to Maine… she was _pregnant?_ He couldn't even believe it. At first he wasn't sure if the baby was his – but upon listening more, it became quite obvious it was.

What're the chances? Sam _was_ a virgin up until that point.

He was leaning against the door, shocked at the argument. He didn't even pay attention to the hallway until he saw Tucker coming down it, waving and smiling at him.

"Hey, Dan—" he said, but was cut off by a very loud "SHHH!" from Danny. He waved Tucker over and listened to the door again, making sure they weren't coming this way.

"Danny, what is it?" Tucker asked, looking from the door to him. Danny sighed heavily. "How's Sam?"

"Oh, _fine,_" Danny said sarcastically, "except for the fact that she's _pregnant!"_

"WHAT?" Tucker yelled, and Danny quickly clamped his mouth shut and dragged him down another hallway, hiding.

"WILL YOU SHUT UP?" Danny said in a coarse whisper. "She doesn't wanna tell us yet!"

"She's… she's _pregnant?"_ Tucker asked in disbelief. "How on earth did _that _happen?"

"How do you _think,_ you idiot?" Danny asked, whacking him upside the head. Tucker thought for a moment, and then a dawning look came over his face.

"…I _knew_ it!" he whispered, pointing an accusing finger at Danny. "I _knew_ something went down that night, and I had a sneaking suspicion that's what happened, but God – she's _pregnant?_"

"Yep," Danny said, sighing. "And she's refusing the chance to stay here in the warmth and cleanliness so she can escape with us."

"She is?" Tucker asked. "That's insane! There's no way her baby would survive out there – if it's even born at all."

"I know," Danny agreed. "And… I don't know. A human life?... It's not worth it."

"Danny, you guys are _sixteen years old_- hell, Danny, you're still fifteen. You can't have a _baby,_" Tucker said. Danny closed his eyes and put his hand on his forehead.

"It's just typical, isn't it? It's so ironic," he said, sighing. "I mean, _how_ many people at school do we know who do this _all the time_? Y'know, all those stories we'd hear – and we were _freshmen _then. And then me and Sam do it _once_- and she's pregnant."

"Wow, Karma sucks," Tucker said. "And it's funny, considering you didn't even _do_ anything."

"I thought getting exiled was enough," Danny muttered. "But not only does this baby make things extremely difficult, but Sam could _die._ I mean, she's already really weak… this baby will just make her weaker. Tuck," he said, turning to his friend, "Sam… Sam has more of a chance of dying than living."

"Welcome to the story of our lives," Tucker said darkly, looking down the dark hallway.

* * *

_YES I am still posting this! Haha. I just saw the series finale last weekend, boo-hoo DP's over in the UK at least. I just got back from Disney World for a week with my marching band, and I meant to post this last weekend but the DP finale had me in a frenzy with the rest of the DP fandom on dA. Which was kind of a waste, it really wasn't all too spectacular, but WHATEV. ANYWAY, yeah, er, more fun. Whoopdeedooo.  
_


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Twilight Walking  
Chapter Sixteen  
**

* * *

"We're leaving."

"What? NOW?"

"No, _tomorrow_, I'm just getting ready. Yes, _now_, you dolt. Where's Danny?" Tucker sat up groggily, rubbing his eyes. Sam was sitting on the edge of his bed, fiddling with the strap on her messenger bag.

Danny and Tucker didn't let Sam know that they knew her secret – and for about a week, they painfully pretended that they didn't know why there was a maternity nurse in the house, being _painfully_ dumb. Luckily, Vlad hadn't been informed of Sam's condition, and was just as confused as the boys pretended they were. He assumed it was for "feminine things" and didn't question it.

It was midnight; and Sam had burst into Tucker's room, throwing his things back into his bag and shaking him awake.

"Umm, don't you think Vlad'll notice if we leave?" Tucker asked. "It's not like if we fly off he can't follow – he certainly well can, and he's faster than Danny."

"We're gonna have to risk it," Sam said, hopping off his bed. "Where's Danny's room?"

"Across the hall," Tucker said, pointing. Sam flew out of the room, noiselessly opening Danny's door and closing it behind her.

Even though they were on the run, they're best friend possibly dying before them, and Danny's emotions heightened, Tucker, as the _great friend_ he was, couldn't stop himself from teasing Danny every chance he got. Half of the time Tucker almost inadvertently revealed that he knew a little _too_ much, and almost made Sam suspicious, that he knew her secret.

Ever since he first found out that Sam was madly in love with Danny, and Danny Sam, he had been _dying_ for the day when he could tease Danny endlessly about it.

Although, he never thought it would happen quite so soon. He imagined it more in ten or twelve years, when (not _if,_ when,) they got married. Oh well.

"We're outta here!" Sam whispered, returning to Tucker's room. "Danny's getting dressed; he wasn't even asleep. As a matter of fact, he looks dead."

"Well, he _is_ half ghost," Tucker said, pulling his backpack on his shoulders. He glanced in the mirror and ran his fingers over his smooth chin, looking at his clean clothes and tidied manner.

"God, coming here was the best decision ever," he said, glancing at Sam. "We look _amazing._"

"Yeah… it's nice to be clean," Sam said, looking in the mirror as well. "Although I was surprised when Danny opted to keep his long hair."

"Oh, c'mon, you don't find it _hot?_" Tucker said, a grin spreading on his face. Sam's cheeks burned with a deep blush as she punched him in the side, causing him to laugh and grab his side. "C'mon, Sam, it's like, my right as your best friend."

"Just because it's a right doesn't mean you have to _exercise_ that right," Sam retorted. "Why can't you be like every other American and be apathetic?"

"I would… If I _were_ an American," Tucker said, sliding his arms into his jacket. Danny came into the room, donning his one-strapped backpack.

"Are we ready?" he asked. His friends nodded, and the three of them closed the doors to their rooms gently and flew down the hallway. They came to the grand staircase, and as silently as possible, ran down them, up to the door.

"Okay, Tuck, Sam, hold my hands," Danny whispered, and the two grabbed on to him. The familiar tingling feeling of turning intangible rushed through them, like an old, remembered feeling (it'd been awhile since Danny had used his powers to get them into things like the movies or something), and they passed harmlessly through the front door.

Once on the other side (and safely across the lawn and the U-shaped driveway), they became visible again. The stately manor stood proud behind them, a couple lit windows at the very top of the house, where some of the servants lived. The rest of the building was dark, and the night was quiet and cold.

"Wow, that was fairly easy," Tucker said, grinning. "I half expected Vlad to be waiting for us."

"Yeah, me too," Danny agreed. Sam nodded, tightening her jacket around her.

"Oh, I wouldn't say _waiting_; more like heard you and decided to follow," a voice said from behind them. The three spun around, facing away from the manor—

To be face-to-face with Vlad Masters.

"So, where exactly are you three going?" Vlad asked smoothly. Danny balled his hands into fists, but Sam put her hand on his, lowering his arm.

"Don't, Danny," she whispered.

"What's it to you, Vlad? Gonna turn us in?" Danny asked, as calmly as he could.

"My dear boy, if I had any intentions of turning you in, I would have done so already. You've been at my house for nearly two weeks," Vlad replied. He pocketed his hands and stared at the dark sky. "Y'know, I'm surprised you three haven't been caught yet, what with how loudly you talk when you think you're being quiet."

"What?" Danny asked.

"Why, your friends were being so _loud_ in his room," Vlad said, pointing to Tucker. "It's amazing that no one _else_ heard you."

"No one else has super-human hearing, Vlad," Danny said, taking a step towards the older man. Vlad laughed.

"How old are you three? Fifteen? Sixteen?"

"Both," Sam replied. In reality, she was sixteen while those two were fifteen, but Tucker's birthday was coming up. Danny was the youngest of the trio, born in the spring. Sam was born in the fall.

"My… so young," he said, looking at them all. When his eyes fell on Sam, however, he raised his eyebrows; he then looked away, back at his house.

"Well, I just thought you'd like to say 'Good-bye' and thank me for my hospitality," Vlad said, turning back to his manor.

"So… you're _not_ going to turn us in?" Tucker asked in disbelief. Vlad shook his head.

"Believe it or not, you three have garnered a lot of support lately," he said to them. "It's far more interesting to _watch_ what's going to happen next, instead of _deciding_ what will happen next."

And with that, he retreated back to his house.

The trio stood there, dumbfounded, looking at each other.

What was going _on?_

"What did he mean, support?" Sam asked as they took off into the woods again.

"I don't know… I wish we could find out, though, because I'm…" Tucker trailed off, stopping dead. In the woods was a cliff going up the side of a mountain. Tucker stared at it in shock.

"Tuck? What is it?" Danny asked, running over with Sam. All three of them looked in disbelief at what they were seeing.

Painted on the side of the cliff, in white and black paint, was the "DP" symbol that donned Danny Phantom's chest, with the words "Always Remember" around it. It was bigger than any other of the graffiti that had been seen in recent months; it had to be at least seven or eight feet high, and more than ten feet across. The words "Always Remember" were written much smaller all around it, many times.

"What the hell is this?" Danny said, looking at his friends. "Is this what Vlad was talking about?"

"Maybe," Tucker said, walking up to the cliff. "This looks like several different people worked on it. The words are all written in different handwritings."

"This is nuts," Sam said, touching the cliff. "To think someone took the effort to come out here and _do_ this… it's incredible."

" 'Always remember'…" Tucker read, his eyes playing over the incredible sight. "I wonder if this is in other places."

"I don't know," Danny admitted, staring up at it. "But… I hope this isn't the only place we see support like this."

Sam continued to look over it, the sight slowly sinking in. People… there were people on their side. People who they didn't even know, halfway across the country from where they're from, _support_ them. It was unbelievable.

Could things be changing?

Was that even possible anymore?

She sure hoped, for their sake, that it was.

* * *

"Sam? Are you sure you're alright?"

She didn't reply. Instead she breathed heavily, clutching her chest for air. She had just vomited the majority of what she just ate, and she was feeling the full affects now.

"It must've been the food," Tucker said, helping to hold her up with Danny. Danny held onto her with one hand, and held her hair back with the other.

"Sam, I think there's seriously something wrong with you," he said in a low voice. Sam shook her head, but then immediately placed her other hand on her forehead when a dizzy sensation came over her.

"Sam, cut it out," Tucker said. Danny opened his mouth to say something, when he shivered violently. He glanced around immediately, eyes narrowed, as if ready to pounce at the next sign of movement.

"Something's around here," he murmured, and stood up. Sam in turn leaned against Tucker for support, her eyes closed.

_Oh, damnit,_ she thought to herself. _I can't tell if it was the food, or the morning sickness. Ugh._

As far as she could tell, despite the warnings of the doctors at Vlad's, she seemed to still be very much pregnant. All of the normal signs of the first trimester seemed to be hitting her at once; vomiting, mood swings, even a bout of depression that really seemed to concern her friends.

But neither side wanted to tell the other what they knew. Sam thought that Danny and Tucker had no idea she was pregnant (just sick), and Danny and Tucker didn't want to tell Sam they had eavesdropped on her (very private) conversation with the doctors.

Danny stood up, eyes narrowed, waiting to hear the first sign of movement.

"Who's there?" he called. Tucker helped Sam up slowly, brushing snow from her shoulders. "I know you're there, so you might as well _come on out!_"

There was a snigger from behind a tree and Danny advanced, cracking his knuckles.

"This won't take long," he muttered to his friends. "I can sense that this ghost isn't very powerful at all." With that he bounded into the trees, the white light that characteristically went with Danny Phantom appearing as he transformed.

That left Sam and Tucker to wait for him to come back.

"Sam, are you _sure_—"

"I'm fine!" Sam snapped suddenly. "Would you stop _asking_ already? Look, I just ate some bad food is all, I'll be—"

"Sam."

"WHAT?"

"…It wasn't food poisoning. " Sam blinked at him, hear heart picking up speed.

_What? How on earth could he know?_ She thought. Then again, he'd always been much more perceptive than Danny on most subtle hints. Tucker sighed.

"We just ate a few hours ago," he said slowly. "The bacteria you get from food poisoning won't kick into your system until at least twelve to twenty-four hours after consuming the food."

…_Oops._

"W-well, then it must be from fatigue, o-or—" But the look Tucker was giving her said all. She felt as if he could see right into her mind, past all her defenses and fronts, to the terrified person she was hiding underneath. She had always been strong; and she had been until now.

_Pregnancy sucks,_ she decided.

"..Sam," he said. "You don't have to lie. I know."

"…You do?" she asked in a small voice. He nodded, glancing down at her stomach. "F-for how long?"

"Awhile," he said casually, stretching his arms and pulling his bag over his shoulders. "One of the nurses let it slip in front of me accidentally," he lied through his teeth.

"…Does Danny know?" she asked. Tucker sighed.

"Does it matter? I mean, he'll find out eventually. You can only hide it until the second trimester, Sam." She sighed and slid back down into the snow.

"…You guys are so _stupid_," Tucker muttered. Sam glanced up, about to defend herself, when she realized he wasn't even really talking to her. "I mean… what _are_ the odds? There must be some science to this… I mean… my God… _the first time?_ That's ridiculous." He put his hand on his forehead and gave an irritated sigh. Sam blinked up at him. It wasn't like him to lose his temper, or his patience. He had an admirable amount of patience, especially being friends with Danny. Best friends with Danny. But one can only be patient and understanding for so long.

This… this was just reckless.

"_Why_ did you do it?" Tucker asked his voice irate as he turned to her. Sam gasped at his sudden sharpness. She just noticed that his left glasses lens had a small crack in the corner.

"What?" Sam asked. She could tell from the tightness in his voice that he was _extremely _irritated with her pregnancy. They both knew what stress it would put Danny through (or stress he's already in), and that there was nothing good that could come from it. Sam will be weakened, Danny will be stressed, and the baby most likely wasn't going to live.

"What do you _mean_ 'what'?" He snapped back at her. "_Why_ did you do something as _stupid_ as _have__sex with him?!_" he cried. Sam flinched as if he had hit her, his words striking a chord within her.

"I-I don't _know!_" she yelled back suddenly. "It seemed right at the time. He was hurting, and I- I just wanted to help him! Do you think I was _planning_ on this or something? I wasn't exactly thinking I was going to end up with a _baby_, Tucker!"

"Well, you should have thought of that before!" he cried back, his anger quickly bubbling to the surface.

What was going on? They almost never fought – not about anything serious, really. Yes, Tucker and Sam bumped heads on many occasions, but usually about inane, unimportant things. Never on something as drastic or important as this.

"Look, I just wanted to take his mind off of what happened! He's been going through _a lot_ lately, if you hadn't noticed!" Sam shouted back.

"He's not the _only_ one!" Tucker cried in exasperation, raising his arms. "Sam, we've _all_ been going through a lot – not just him!"

"I KNOW!" she cried, standing up suddenly. "I've been going through it all, too! I didn't just do it for him, I did it for me, too, because I _wanted_ to, because I _love him!_ And if that means maybe putting myself—"

"But we love you too, Sam!" Tucker said, cutting her off. "You're my best friends, we're your best friends, and Danny's best friends. For Christ sakes Sam, did you ever stop to think that if something happened to _you_, it would in turn affect _us?_ If you died, I don't know how either of us would end up! Danny would most likely end up dead, too! Is that what you want? Is it?"

"No, of _course_ not!" Sam said back, hot tears staining her face. "I don't want any of us to die! I want us all to live because we _have_ to! It's—"

"_ENOUGH!" _ a voice boomed from beside them suddenly. Both of them turned to see Danny stepped over a bush and into the clearing, staring at them both with looks of shock.

"D-Danny?" Sam stuttered, wiping tears away from her face. "H-how long have you been—"

"Long enough," Danny said softly. He glared at both his friends. "I heard you guys talking and I was curious to see what you would say while I wasn't there."

"What, you don't trust us?" Tucker snapped, becoming instantly irritated with Danny, too. "You think we'll turn our backs on you?"

"No, you idiot, I just wanted to know what you're hiding from me," Danny said back, just as sharply. As soon as he realized what he was saying, he shook his head violently, holding it in his hands.

"Look, just _stop,_" he said. "We shouldn't be fighting. If we fight and I don't know… do something stupid like separate, we might as well kill ourselves now because we can't do this on our own."

Silence pervaded the area, the only sound Sam sniffling as she wiped her eyes, trying to stop her crying.

_What had just happened_?

"Sam, we know about… about the baby," Danny said slowly. He walked over to her and put his arms around her. "And I know that you wanted to keep it a secret from us."

"But Danny—" Sam started, pushing him away. Danny placed his hand over her lips and took a deep breath.

"And Tucker, I _know_ you're angry," he said, his voice lined with more hurt than anger himself. Tucker couldn't shake the annoying feeling of guilt that was building inside him. "But… things happen. We _can't_ let this do this to us." Silence fell once more, the only sounds were of Sam breathing heavily and Tucker shifting as he lifted his bag again.

"The rest of the country is starting to support us," Danny continued in a soft voice. He stared hard at Tucker, who was avoiding his gaze, then at Sam, who was wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "We can't lose faith now. We just… can't."

* * *

_The story's moving a bit too quickly, I know. Blah. It was just getting so long! But whatever. Another chapter for you all. I'm so tired right now my eyes hurt. Jesus. I'm going to bed!_


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**Twilight Walking  
Chapter Seventeen  
**

* * *

"The case is going to be re-evaluated?"

Jazz's voice pierced the air in surprise, nearly dropping her books in the process. She looked from one parent to the other in disbelief.

All their hard work, all their tears, all their grief—it was finally going to pay off.

"They're bringing it to Congress to decide whether a federal judge should re-evaluate the evidence and such," Maddie said excitedly, still shaking from the news she received earlier in the day. "But the support they've gotten is so high that they're bound to get it back into court."

"I can't believe it," Jazz said as her parents beamed at one another. "So, if the case is re-evaluated, and Danny is deemed innocent… what will happen then?"

"Well, we're hoping it means that he can come home," Jack said. "With Tucker and Sam. I mean, just a few weeks ago we saw them on television, and there's been news that Danny Phantom's been spotted since then."

"They're strong," Maddie offered, smiling at Jazz. "They can make it, I know they can."

"I just can't believe it," Jazz said again. The thought of her brother, her little, beloved brother coming home? It was too much. It felt as if he had returned from the dead; instead of pretending he didn't exist, she could embrace him in her arms once more, along with her parents, whom she hadn't seen this happy since before Danny was exiled.

"I'm so excited," Maddie said, standing up. She opened the bread box sitting on the counter, and pushed the loaves of bread and rolls aside. She pried one of the siding panels of the wooden box off and pulled out a wrinkled, old photo from a hidden compartment. It looked as if it had been folded and tucked away hundreds of times.

It was a photo of Danny. It was his freshman year school picture. His face was smooth and full, his eyes alive and sparkling, his crazy raven hair falling slightly into his eyes.

"Mom! What about the taps?" Jazz hissed. Maddie beamed with glee.

"They took them all down this morning!" she said excitedly. "Part of the court order was to take us off surveillance!" Jazz's jaw dropped in surprise. They were off surveillance? Finally?

"They're really serious this time, aren't they?" Jazz said. "How long until we know about the court order?"

"…That's the sad part," Maddie admitted. "It could be months before anything is done." The Fenton family remained silently for a time, before Jazz opened her mouth.

"So, it's really changing, isn't it?" she said, placing her books on the counter. Maddie placed the photo on the counter beside Jazz's books, and laid her hand over it. Jack laid his hand over Maddie's and Jazz placed hers on top, where they remained in silence.

"I wonder what's happening to them now."

* * *

Vlad tapped the frozen glass in his office window, staring outside into the wintry scenery. He sighed, the glass fogging up.

Sure, he let them get away. He'd been wondering when they would finally try to leave. When they did, all of the servants and maids he'd ordered to keep quiet, to go to their every beck and call wondered in secrecy just what he was doing. It was like a big game they were being force to play.

"Mr. Masters?" his secretary asked timidly, poking her head into the office. Vlad turned slightly; arms folded neatly behind his back, and didn't change his expression once upon seeing her.

"What?" he asked in a low voice, raising an eyebrow. The woman bit her lip and looked down at the papers she was holding.

"Um, the police called here earlier," she said, glancing back up at him. "They said they, uh, 'briefly spotted' those three on the edge of the town and wanted to know if we'd seen them. We… we answered just the way you told us, but we just wanted to run what happened by you." Vlad nodded.

"Good, very good, it should stay that way," Vlad said, grinning. "Just keep to that story and we should be fine."

The secretary nodded, and backed out of the door. But as soon as she did, she flung it open again, hanging onto it breathlessly.

"Please, tell me," she began, "why did you let them just… _leave?_ Why didn't you go after them?" Vlad scoffed and turned to face the woman, causing her to jump a little in fright.

"Why, I have nothing to gain from them," he said simply. "And they had nothing to gain from me. You must pick your battles wisely, and you just choose when you're going to just sit back… and watch it all unfold." Vlad glanced out the window again, the snow reflecting off of the windows.

"…Honestly," he said, "it's far more entertaining to watch and wonder what's going to happen instead of already knowing. This time, it's my turn to sit and watch the game play out."

* * *

_This is called the "Jess-doesn't-know-anything-about-government" and "Jess-is-just-trying-to-stall" chapter. More Vlad, since he left so... abruptly, and more of the Fentons back home. Btw, I don't know if the Fentons actually live in Cali; I'm just making that up. So yeah. Don't quote me on that.  
_


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**Twilight Walking  
Chapter Eighteen  
**

* * *

Time passed, and spring came into bloom. Sam's stomach began to grow tremendously, eventually causing her to be unable to carry her bag – Danny and Tucker had to switch off carrying it. The day was coming when it would be the two-year anniversary of their official exile – something that really wasn't that celebratory. 

Sam began growing so large that her own clothes didn't fit her anymore. Danny gave her his old red-and-white t-shirt, which was bigger than her form fitting clothes, and when that didn't cover her completely anymore, they ripped the bottom off of a blanket and haphazardly sewed it to the shirt so it covered her.

It was probably a medical miracle that Sam was still somewhat healthy, and that her baby was still – as far as they knew – alive. Sam had expected a miscarriage or a debilitating disease months earlier; she had silently agreed with those nurses when they said she would probably be weakened.

But if it was going to happen… it hadn't yet.

In the middle of Vermont, the fugitives hid out in the warm air and clear pine forests of New England in the spring.

"Wow, it's so warm out." Danny pulled his jacket off and tossed it into his bag, his bare shoulders being enveloped by the warm breeze. He grinned at Sam and Tucker, who were sitting nearby to him.

"It is," Sam said, closing her eyes and allowing the breeze to wash over her. Tucker was busy piling all of their things into his bag, and then in Sam's bag.

"Danny, it's your turn to carry Sam's bag," he said, tossing the bag to Danny. Danny pulled it over his head effortlessly, allowing the strap to fall onto his shoulder. Sam sighed.

"I feel so bad for making you guys carry that," she said, her hands resting on her ballooned abdomen.

"Well, at least we can take it off," Danny said, grinning. "You still have a month and a half before you can unload _that._" Sam frowned at him as he laughed, Tucker snickering next to them.

"Shut up," she said, sitting up. Danny scooted closer to her and put his arm around her, helping her up.

"I'm just kidding," Danny said, kissing her cheek. "How are you? Are you okay after last night?"

"Yeah," Sam answered, standing up with Danny. "It was only some minor contractions."

"They didn't seem very minor last night," Tucker said, remembering Sam's sudden complaints of sharp pain.

"You know what that means, right?" Sam asked as Tucker stood up.

"What?"

"The baby's coming soon."

"WHAT?" Danny cried. "What do you mean, 'soon'?"

"What I said," Sam said, grinning broadly. "Contractions only happen as frequently as that when it's almost time for the baby."

"But… you still have a month and a half," Tucker said. "How could the baby be born already?"

"Don't you two know _anything _about pregnancies?" Sam asked in an irritated tone. "Lots of babies are born early. Hell, Danny, _you_ were born early; so was I." Danny just looked at her, confused.

"How'd you know that? And why didn't _I_ know that?" he said as Sam giggled.

"I dunno, Jazz told me one day," she said. "She was telling me and Tucker the story of when you were born – remember, Tuck?"

"Oh yeah," Tucker said. "I remember now. It was a really funny story."

"It was the day before our first day of high school, I remember," Sam said, thinking back. "Last day of summer. You were off somewhere doing something, and Tuck and I were in the kitchen with Jazz, who was looking through a photo album of you two when you were little."

"Wait, _what_ story of when I was born?" Danny asked as the three of them started pushing their way through the trees. "I've heard about six different ones."

"When you were _born_ born," Tucker said. "Like, when you popped out of your mom. Jazz told us the story of how you were like, what was it, almost a month early?"

"That was it," Sam said, pointing at Tucker. "Your mom went into labor mega-early, and your dad had no idea _what_ to do, and he called an ambulance, right?"

"Yeah, and they left Jazz home alone accidentally," Tucker said as Sam laughed. Danny just frowned. He hadn't heard this story before…

"That's why Jazz was telling us, because you asked why she wasn't in any of the pictures from minutes after Danny was born," Sam said. "Oh, it's all coming back to me now… I forgot about that."

"Yeah, Danny, after you were born, your dad rushed back to your house to get Jazz."

"And then, he was almost named 'Aiden' instead of 'Daniel'."

"Oh yeah! Jazz wanted to name you 'Aiden' after some character in a movie she saw earlier in the week or something, right?"

"Yeah, but your dad didn't want to name you something 'sissy like Aiden', so your mom pulled the name 'Daniel' from nowhere and they were like 'Okay, that works'."

"Wow, I can't believe you guys care so much about me being born," Danny said flatly. Sam giggled.

"Well, it's been on my mind, anyway," she said, allowing Danny to help her over a log.

As suddenly as she had said that, she crumpled to the ground, searing pain ripping through her instantaneously.

"Sam?" Danny asked, alarmed. He fell to the ground beside her, Tucker rushing over and crouching down.

"…Oohhh…" Sam moaned, clenching her teeth. She wrapped her arms around her large middle and leaned over, breathing hard.

"Is it over?" Tucker asked, but as soon as he did, she groaned again, this time nearly screeching from the pain.

"O-oh my God," Sam stammered, sweat dripping down her face. She gripped Danny's hand and squeezed as hard as she could, Danny wincing slightly in pain.

"Sam, what do you want us to do?" he asked. "What's going on?"

"I think – I think the baby's coming," Sam said, to both boys surprise.

"WHAT?"

"_NOW?_"

"YES, now!" she cried, looking up at Danny. Danny could see how much pain she was in when he looked at her. Her eyes flashed with weariness and fear, and her face was pallid and sweaty. She looked helpless.

"C'mon, Sam, see if you can stand up," Danny said after a moment, putting his arm around her and lifting her off the ground. Sam winced again as she had another contraction, just as bad as the last one.

"Tuck, run ahead and see if there's any type of shelter nearby," Danny ordered, deciding he would take over. "Anything."

"Alright," Tucker said, and he ran down the slightly worn path, leaves being kicked up in his wake. Danny set Sam back down and he laid her head on his chest, wrapping his arms around her.

"It'll be okay, Sam, I promise," Danny whispered. "Just breathe." He kissed the top of her head and laid his head on hers. "This is crazy."

"I k-know," Sam answered, barely above a whisper. "Danny, I'm so scared…"

"I am, too," Danny said, sighing heavily.

"DANNY! SAM!" Tucker's voice echoed down the pathway, and the two of them saw their dark-skinned friend running down the path, waving.

"You'll _never_ believe what I found," he said, panting when he got to them.

"What?" Danny asked. Tucker grinned.

"A farmhouse. With a family inside. I went up to the door and told them that there was a girl going in _labor_ out here, so they said to get her into the house a.s.a.p." Danny couldn't contain his happiness as he and Tucker helped Sam up and hobbled her down the path.

At the end of the path they came out of the woods, and discovered that just across a large paved road and a few yards down was a large barn with a little old farmhouse, and a bunch of horses in a large pasture. The sky behind the house was darkening; they had slept all day and planned on moving at night, to avoid police. They crossed the pavement road and went up to the house, Tucker running ahead and knocking on the door.

"Mrs. D'Alliuge!" he called, pounding on the door. The door opened and a little auburn-haired girl was standing in the doorway.

"You're back!" she said. Tucker smiled.

"Gabrielle, where's your mother?"

"Inside, getting the bed ready," she said. She looked around. "Where's the pregnant lady?"

"Right – here," Danny said as he and Sam came up the steps. Sam smiled weakly at the little girl, and then doubled over in pain again.

"Mama!" Gabrielle called inside. "They're heeeeeeeeere!" A young woman came running to the door, followed by an elderly woman in a large apron.

"Oh, Tucker, dear, you're back," she said, and then noticed Sam. "And my! You must be Samantha." Sam didn't say anything; she hadn't even heard the woman. All she could concentrate on was the intense pain she was in, and that she was cutting off circulation to the fingers in Danny's right hand at the moment.

The woman (Mrs. D'Alliuge) put her arm around Sam's other side and together she and Danny walked her inside, bringing her into a small bedroom and helping her down onto the bed.

"Okay, dear, just breathe," the elderly woman said, smiling at her. "I used to be a maternity nurse; I've delivered hundreds of babies in my lifetime."

"R-really?" Sam asked, laying her head onto the pillow. "Oh, thank _God._"

"If you could wait outside, that would be appreciated," the woman then said to both Danny and Tucker. They looked at each other, and then walked out the door.

Before he shut the door, Danny looked back at Sam, his face falling.

"W-where's he going?" Sam asked as she noticed Danny was leaving. "I want him here!"

"It'd be best if you just calmed down and breathe, dearie," the elderly woman said, Mrs. D'Alliuge dabbing Sam's forehead with a wet cloth. "You'll see him soon enough…"

* * *

"Do …Do you think she'll be alright?" 

Tucker glanced down at his friend, surprised to hear him talk. Danny was sitting in his chair, leaning forwards, his hands over his face. Tucker was standing on the other side of the doorway, leaning against the wall, waiting.

"What do you mean by 'alright'?" Tucker asked. Danny didn't reply. "Like, physically? Mentally? Emotionally?"

"…All of them," Danny said finally. "Will she live." It wasn't a question so much as it was a statement, a prayer to a God he wasn't sure existed anymore.

"I don't know, Danny," Tucker said. "I mean, she's having a _baby_, man. And she's only _sixteen._"

"It's like an after-school special gone wrong," Danny said, no humor in his voice.

Without warning, the door swung open, and Gabrielle came running out, heading for the sink. She grabbed a bucket from beneath the sink and filled it, tapping her hands on the sink as she waited. When it was full, she ran back into the room before either boy could say a word.

"Which one used to be the maternity nurse?" Danny asked. Tucker shrugged.

The boys went back to waiting, sitting in silence. They listened to a soft spring rain patter down on the roof, and they could see, out the window, the sun rising where the clouds had parted.

Suddenly, the door opened again, and this time, Gabrielle and Mrs. D'Alliuge came running out, Mrs. D'Alliuge carrying a bundle in her arms. The boys watched them take off into another room, and looked at each other, confused.

"Do you boys want to come in here?" a voice said from inside. The old woman poked her head out, smiling.

"Is Sam alright?" Danny asked. The woman nodded to inside.

"I think she'd like to see you two," she said, and both boys ran inside.

Sam was lying on the large bed, blankets pulled all the way up to her neck. Her face was damp with sweat, and her black hair clung to her face. She was breathing hard, and her eyes were closed.

"She's resting," the woman said, "but I'm sure she'd want you there when she wakes up." Danny sat in the chair next to her bed, gently taking her hand and rubbing her fingers with his. Tucker stood behind Danny, putting his hands on the back of the chair.

"Sam, you did it," Danny said softly to her. He closed his eyes and leaned forwards, putting his other hand over his face. Tucker put his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"It'll be alright, Danny," he said. A soft sound like a gurgling brook came from outside the room. It started getting louder and louder, until it was just outside the door.

"What _is_ that?" Danny asked. Tucker just stared at the door.

"It's… crying." Danny looked up. In the doorway, Gabrielle was grinning from ear to ear, holding onto her mother's arm.

"It's a girl!" she said excitedly. Mrs. D'Alliuge was next to her, holding a small bundle in her arms. The bundle was making all of the noise.

They couldn't believe what they were seeing. Mrs. D'Alliuge walked over, the bundle still making a ton of noise. Danny stood up, a good inch taller than her.

"Would you like to hold your daughter?" she asked, and Danny, without saying a word, took the bundle into his arms.

What he saw amazed him. Tucker looked over his friend's shoulder, unable to contain his smile.

In his arms was a squishy, pink, crying life form. Wrapped in what appeared to be bed sheets and towels, she couldn't have been bigger than his forearm. Danny gently touched her cheek, which was very, very soft, and drew his finger up the side of her face, to her hairline, where a patch of black hair was matted against her skin.

The baby gently wrapped her hand around Danny's finger; her fingers were so small they didn't even reach all the way around.

"She's very, very small," Mrs. D'Alliuge said, "but, according to my mother, she seems to be reasonably healthy. It's best if you get her to a hospital very soon, though, for post-birth checkups and such. She's only about four pounds or so."

"She's so _tiny,_" Tucker said. Gabrielle was practically hopping from one foot to the other with excitement.

"Why, she was born a month early, my dear," Mrs. D'Alliuge said, smiling.

"Whatcha gonna name her?" Gabrielle asked, tugging on Danny's shirt. Mrs. D'Alliuge frowned at her daughter.

"Don't be so eager, _Gabrielle,_" she said to the girl, speaking her name in French.

"…Danny?" a voice said softly. Danny turned to see Sam opening her eyes, groaning and trying to push herself up. Mrs. D'Alliuge hurried over to her, trying to stop her from moving much.

"Oh, honey, don't move so much," she said, smiling. She pulled Sam's hair out of her face and wiped off her face with a cloth.

"I'm… okay," she said, sighing heavily. She was trying to get Mrs. D'Alliuge to stop fussing over her when Danny sat on the edge of her bed, pulling her attention away from the older woman.

"Danny, I…" she trailed off when she saw the bundle. "…is that…?"

"Here," Danny said, saying his first word since the baby was placed in his arms. "It's a girl." Sam, her face in shock and awe, took the bundle and cradled it between her and Danny.

"Oh, my God," she whispered, the baby still crying softly. "She's…"

"…incredible," Danny finished. Neither of them had ever seen anyone have a baby before; he was the second child, and Sam was an only child.

The baby stopped crying and instead was wiggling around, moving her arms and pulling on her blankets without knowing it.

"Heeeey, there," Tucker said, leaning over. Sam laughed and handed the baby off to him. He cradled the baby expertly, smiling down at her. "Hey, I'm Tucker, and I'm the greatest out of all three of us. You better believe it." Sam and Danny laughed as Tucker held their little baby, rocking her gently.

The rain had stopped, and the sun was rising instead. Gabrielle opened the window next to the bed and hopped on the sill, swinging her legs. Warm spring air came in through the windows, bringing the sweet scent of flowers with it.

"So? Whatcha gonna name her?" she asked persistently. Mrs. D'Alliuge frowned.

"Gabrielle, that's enough!" her mother ordered. Sam took the baby back in her arms and looked down at her. She gasped.

"She opened her eyes!" she said, and as if on cue, everyone in the room instantly crowded around her.

The little baby was looking back at them with big, shining, deep blue eyes. They were a very dark blue, almost violet, like the night sky. She looked from Sam to Danny, and then her eyes fell on all the people around her. She broke out into a smile and giggled happily, kicking her legs and moving her hands.

"Hello," Sam said after a moment. "Welcome to our world."

* * *

_I posted this a few days ago on dA, so here it is, again. Yes. Baby is born. Hmm.  
_


	19. Chapter Ninenteen

**Twilight Walking**  
**Chapter Nineteen  
**

* * *

"…C'mon, now, baby, drink the rest of it," Sam said in a low voice to the baby cradled in her arms. The little girl rejected the little bottle and instead nestled into Sam's arm, looking up at her mother with her large blue eyes. Sam placed the bottle on the table and instead rocked the infant gently, humming a lullaby to her. Gabrielle and Mrs. D'Alliuge were sitting at the table, all three of them waiting for Danny, Tucker, and Mr. D'Alliuge to come in from outside. 

"You know, you'll have to name her, eventually," Mrs. D'Alliuge said, smiling up at Sam. Sam looked at the older woman and sighed.

"I know… I just don't know what," she admitted. "I know Danny said he didn't care, but I think he does… and I care, too, what her name is." Sam looked up at the ceiling, and then looked around the room for some kind of inspiration to strike. "Something special that will represent just how special she is to us." Sam sat down at the table next to Gabrielle, who in turn leaned over and touched the baby on her tiny nose, giggling.

"Mrs. D'Alliuge…" Sam started, looking straight at her. The woman looked up from her book, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes?"

"Why… why did you help us?" she asked slowly. Mrs. D'Alliuge had an expression like Sam had just asked her why the sky was blue.

"Why, because you needed it," she said incredulously.

"Well, I know that, and I'm grateful, but if we're… if we're caught here, you'll be arrested, too," Sam said thoughtfully. "And if I were you, I wouldn't have let us in."

"Oh, dear, I believe all of you are innocent," Mrs. D'Alliuge said matter-of-factly. "Most people around here do. As soon as I saw your friend running down the road, I knew _immediately_ who you were. And I knew _immediately_ that I wanted to help you."

"She's so perfectly quiet," Gabrielle breathed in a soft voice. "She's like an angel."

"Cherish that," Mrs. D'Alliuge said to Sam, chuckling as she stood up to refill her mug. "She won't be like that for long; in a few weeks she'll probably start crying a lot more. Although it's quite unusual for an infant to be this quiet."

"I suppose…" Sam agreed, getting caught up in the magic of her daughter.

"Hello, baby angel," Gabrielle said to the silent babe. The baby just looked at her, giggling gently as Gabrielle tickled her cheeks. "What a good angel you are!"

"Honey, stop calling her that, she may think it's her name." Mrs. D'Alliuge said to her daughter as she sat back down. Gabrielle frowned at her mother and bounced over.

"But it's _true_, she _is_ a little angel," she said as she slid into the seat beside her. Sam cuddled the baby and thought for a moment.

"…Angel," she said slowly. She smiled down at her baby. "Baby Angel. Our little… our little miracle child. I like that," she said, looking up. "I mean, it's very un-like me to come up with a name like _that,_ but it just… fits somehow."

"Heeeeeeeey, everyone!" a booming voice sounded from the foyer. The burlesque Mr. D'Alliuge came walking in, a very tired looking Danny and Tucker following behind him. "That didn't take quite as long as I thought it would."

"Is everything fixed?" Mrs. D'Alliuge asked as Gabrielle thrust herself into her father's arms.

"Yep, the back door to the barn is all set," he said, putting his daughter up on his shoulders. Gabrielle giggled and waved down to the (extremely tired) Danny and Tucker beside her.

"And just what were you doing in here, princess?" Mr. D'Alliuge asked as Danny and Tucker sat down next to Sam.

"I was playing with Angel!" Gabrielle said excitedly, being lowered to the ground so her father could take off his jacket.

"With who, now?"

"Angel! The baby!" she proclaimed, pointing at the child in question.

" 'Angel'?" both Tucker and Danny said at the same time. Sam blushed as she cradled the sleeping baby.

"If you don't like it, we can name her something else," she said softly. Danny placed his hand on her arm.

"No, I like it," he said. "It fits. It's just… not a name I thought you'd come up with is all." Sam smiled at him.

"Gabrielle kept calling her a 'baby angel', and it just… suits her." Everyone was silent as they watched the young couple cradle their newborn, Angel cooing softly in her sleep. Sam glanced up at Danny, who was staring down at his daughter with a look of amazement and awe.

"Things are finally seeming brighter, aren't they?" she said softly so only he could hear.

* * *

Time passed, and the four of them left the little farm. Gabrielle couldn't bear to see them go – she chased after them all the way down the road, walking with them until it became too far for her to follow. 

"Come back and visit!" she cried down the road, waving as large as she could. "I want to see baby Angel when she's all grown up!" The girl's mother had made a makeshift birth certificate for the baby, stating her name, birth date, and all her measurements at birth. On the certificate she wrote _Angel Fenton_ in a neat cursive.

"We're going to get married in Europe," Sam had explained to her. "I always told myself that, when I get married, I'm going to keep my last name – unless I married Danny. I've spent half my life wishing I were a Fenton."

Giving her an old baby carrier, the Alliuges sent them on their way laden with things to take care of their new addition. Even with the crying and the diaper changes and general baby care, having the infant seemed to lighten everyone's mood. Even Tucker couldn't help but smile as he held her, giving Sam a break from carrying her.

"She's so adorable," he breathed. He grinned. "Who knew someone so cute could actually have half of Danny's DNA?"

"Oh, shut up," Danny said, whacking the back of his head. Sam smiled at them, an overwhelming sense of fatigue sweeping over her. The very same coughs that plagued her so long ago had come back, making her throat constantly sore.

She doubled over, coughing into her hands. Danny dropped down beside her and steadied her, giving her a drink of water when she was finished.

"Are you alright?" Danny asked, concerned. Sam licked her lips and nodded, gulping the water. Tucker walked over, the baby in his arms.

"I think she wants you," he said, handing her over to Sam. Sam smiled, looking down at Angel. But Danny didn't. He watched Sam instead, and saw the circles under her eyes and the paleness of her skin. She had lost a considerable amount of weight, even more than she should have after having the baby. And she never seemed to have an appetite.

Something was very wrong.

"Sam, why don't you let me carry her," Danny said, taking the baby from her arms. Sam didn't say anything as Angel was lifted out of her arms and up into Danny's. He grunted as he positioned her in his arms, and then crouched down to pick up his bag, swinging it over his shoulder. Tucker picked up his own bag and then Sam's before she could grab it.

"Let me," Tucker said softly. "You need all the strength you can get."

"I'm fine," Sam said, her voice scratchy. "I don't need to be babied."

As they continued on, Sam began growing sicker and sicker. She slept less and ate less, almost withering away before their very eyes. It seemed as if their happiness over Angel's birth had been years ago.

And as Sam grew worse, Angel seemed to be doing better. It was almost miraculous how an infant could survive in such harsh conditions. But the babe seemed to be almost thriving in her horrible living conditions.

Soon the fugitives found themselves on the edge of Vermont, about to pass through to New Hampshire. From there they would run into Maine, then across the border to Canada, and then on to Europe, far away from the United States.

The four of them wandered on the outskirts of a city, Sam clutching the baby to her chest, Angel sleeping peacefully in her mother's arms.

They had met a couple of ghosts upon coming to Vermont, more than they had been running into lately, and Danny felt as if these simple little vermin were completely wiping him out.

He would never, for as long as he lived, forget the one ghost that changed his life forever. It was a formless, low-level ghost, but because of him and a reluctant Tucker chasing that ghost, he lost the most important thing to him in the world.

* * *

_Well, this story is beginning to wind down. There are just abouut... two chapters left, then an epilogue. Good times. I dunno what I'm going to do next for a 'big story'. Summer's coming and I like to have fanfiction projects over the summer. Anyone have any ideas? Because I have a few but I don't know how those are gonna get fleshed out. In any case, thanks for over 100 reviews :D I didn't notice until today._


	20. Chapter Twenty

**Twilight Walking  
Chapter Twenty  
**

* * *

"We'll go after the ghost," Danny said, pulling his jacket off in the warm late May air. He smiled at Sam, wrapping her in his jacket. "We'll be back soon."

"Okay," Sam said in her hoarse voice. She cleared her throat and said "Okay" again, clearer this time. She laid a sleeping Angel on the ground, and she cooed softly in her sleep, shifting in the blankets that made her bed.

Danny dropped down on the ground before Sam, smiling gently at her. He leaned forward, cupping her face gently in his hands, and kissed her. He lingered on her lips for as long as he could, enjoying her taste and the feel of her lips on his. It had been a long time since they shared a simple moment together. Her hand intertwined with his, and he felt her thin fingers tighten in his hand.

"I love you," he whispered when he pulled away.

"I love you, too," she said back, opening her eyes.

"We'll be back soon," Danny said, reluctantly standing up. "And remember what we promised. If you feel sick at _all_ – even a little, if anything happens – go to the hospital."

"I know, I will," she said. They had finally come to the decision that Sam, if she got any weaker, would die. And they would risk the government for her safety.

Sam smiled at him and waved at the two of them as they ran off into the woods, shouting at the ghost. Sam yawned and leaned over to pick up Angel, cradling the baby in her arms.

That was when it happened. A shooting, burning pain raced through her chest. Sam coughed and choked, her breaths coming in short, painful bursts. Angel began to cry softly, partly because of the horrible sounds emitting from Sam's throat, and partly because she subconsciously knew there was something wrong with her mother.

Breathing heavily, Sam calmed herself down, but the burning remained in her chest. It became worse, as if her very chest were on fire.

"Oh- my God," she breathed, swallowing hard, trying to keep the tears from flowing. She quickly grabbed Angel into her arms, and leaving everything, ran down the hill she was sitting on.

Her legs felt weak and she realized she was out of breath almost instantly. But her pain was so intense that she felt almost blinded, and she ran down the road until she finally found herself in the city.

She had no idea just where she was, she just knew she was on the border of Vermont and New Hampshire somewhere. She stumbled into the city, and ran blindly. Angel's cries were louder now, and when she found herself in the lobby of the local hospital, nearly every head turned as she came barreling in, falling to her knees breathlessly in the lobby. Two aids came running over, one of them taking the baby, the other aid calling for help.

It would be the last day of Samantha Manson's life.

* * *

Later, Sam's eyes fluttered open. Her long hair had been pulled back and held with a rubber band. Some kind of airtube had been put in her nose, giving her cool, fresh air. An IV ran into her arm, and she lay in a soft bed. But she couldn't really focus on anything around her. Her vision was hazy and blurred, and she felt like she was listening to all the talking around her through a glass wall.

"—horrible inflammation of the lungs, throat raw—"

"—Heart palpitations, considerable weight loss—"

"—the Manson girl, if we're right—"

"Angel," Sam muttered, causing a nurse to glance over at her. She walked over and leaned carefully on the bed.

"What did you say, sweetie?" she asked in a soft voice. Sam closed her eyes and groaned, her heart pounding heavily.

"My baby," she said to the nurse. "Angel."

"Her name is Angel?" the nurse asked, motioning to another nurse to write it down.

"Her… certificate," Sam murmured. The nurse glanced at the second nurse.

"That slip of paper we found in her pocket _is_ a birth certificate, for the baby," she said. She turned back to Sam.

"—Blood pressure dropping—"

"Are you Samantha Manson?" the nurse asked delicately. Without opening her eyes, Sam nodded. She felt at ease, although searing pain still raced through her chest. The feel of the warm bed, the knowledge her baby was in a clean, safe environment… Knowing _she_ was in a clean safe environment… And Danny and Tucker—

Were they there? She couldn't remember.

"Danny…" Sam said.

"Danny Fenton?"

"Y-yeah… He's her father…"

"Where is he?"

"…A ghost… isn't he here?" Sam turned to the nurse. The nurses' eyes widened as she gazed at Sam's face. Her eyes were half-lidded; her violet eyes that were once filled with life were now dulled. Sam gasped suddenly, and her breaths came short again. But as immediately as they had come, they smoothed out again as the doctor injected something into her.

"He isn't, honey, do you know where we can find him?" the nurse asked, the second nurse right beside her.

"Outside the… city," Sam murmured, closing her eyes and turning a bit onto her side. She felt _incredibly_ sleepy, her pain subsiding. It was so comfortable, her environment now. She felt light and airy on this bed, between these blankets.

_When Danny comes here,_ she thought to herself, _he can get checked out… Will we be arrested?_

"Samantha? Sam?" the nurse asked softly, leaning over her. Sam didn't respond. She had fallen asleep in her bed, her hands folded next to her head, a small smile on her lips. Her breathing was soft and tranquil, and, for the first time in nearly two years, she felt at ease. Her thoughts drifted back to Danny, the person she loved more than life itself. Her thoughts went to Tucker, one of the only people who she could ever trust. Her thoughts soared through memories, over the people in her life she cared about the most – the entire Fenton family, her grandmother, the only cousin she had ever liked – even her parents came into her mind. Granted, they were constantly trying to turn her into something she wasn't, but it was only out of love and concern. Her whole world revolved around and around in her mind, her thoughts moving so fast that they stopped- and her mind cleared. She fell asleep, her breaths slow…

She didn't wake up the next morning.

* * *

_Wow! Super-freaking-dramatic._


	21. Chapter TwentyOne

_Just wanted to mention that I have never received so many death threats at once before. It was terrifying and exciting at the same time.  
_

* * *

**Twilight Walking  
Chapter Twenty-One  
**

* * *

"…Legacy comes to an end as of Monday, June 1st," the news anchor said to everyone around the world. "For two years, Daniel Fenton, Samantha Manson, and Tucker Foley have been traveling across the country, from California to Vermont, possibly to escape the country. They're journey ended on Monday with the death of Samantha Manson from _Ectococci influenza_, a new type of the flu that was discovered recently by German scientists. As of this report, neither Daniel Fenton nor Tucker Foley has been recovered. Manson told a nurse aid that they were fighting a ghost just outside the city, but when investigators traveled to the outskirts, all they found were the trio's bags, still filled with everything they carried with them, with neither Foley nor Fenton to be seen. 

"But, what's probably the most surprising outcome of this two-year-long 'injustice from hell', as many have put it, is that when they started out, there were only three of them – but at the end, there were four." At these words, everyone who was watching (including every classroom in Casper High School) gasped and stared at the screen, waiting for this surprising news.

"When Manson came into the hospital, she had an _infant_ with her. This infant, who was born just a month ago, is believe to be Manson and Fenton's daughter – at least, if what Manson has claimed is correct. She even has a makeshift birth certificate, stating she was born at the beginning of last month in a town just on the border of Vermont and Pennsylvania.

"Her name, ironically, is 'Angel', as said by Manson shortly before her death. She is going to get an official birth certificate to certify her citizenship, even if her parents weren't citizens when she was born."

In Lancer's fifth-period junior English class, the entire class was completely stunned at this news. Everyone was looking at each other in surprise and shock.

"They… they had a _baby?_" Paulina said suddenly. She shook her head in disbelief. "Oh my _God._"

"They almost made it," someone else said. "They were actually alive until just last week!"

"How many times did we think they were dead?" another person added. Suddenly, voices were flying around the room, until—

"SHUT UP!" Valerie called out, running to the front of the room. "Jazz is on the news!" Everyone looked up at the screen, and sure enough, Jazz was standing before a microphone, pushing her hair back behind her ears.

"This past winter, I spoke to my brother for the last time," she said, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "He c-called me in the middle of the night from a house he was s-staying in at the time. I was the only person in Amity Park he had spoken to since they ran away.

"They grew up. They grew up without us. Taking away their citizenship didn't stop them from living. This government… i-if this government thinks they can end lives by taking away a title… they're wrong. Those three were more American than anyone else in this entire country.

"M-my brother wasn't dangerous, nor was he weak. He was always optimistic, along with Tucker, and even Sam sometimes, too. But, that one night when I spoke to him, h-he told me something. He told me to repeat something to everyone in the entire world, if… if they didn't make it.

"He told me… t-to tell e-e-everyone…" She looked around at all the cameras, the journalists and the various people who had gathered to hear.

"…That they never, _ever_, stopped trying. Not even for a moment."

* * *

"Ohh, you're so _sweet!_ Yes you are!" Jazz said in a babyish voice, tickling the baby. Angel giggled and swatted at Jazz's fingers, her eyes lighting up. Jazz's heart melted at the sight of the little girl.

"Hello there Angel," she said, touching her forehead. Angel grabbed onto her finger and wouldn't let go, gurgling happily. Maddie sat down next to Jazz, smiling down at her granddaughter.

"Isn't she just the _sweetest_ little baby?" Jazz asked as she tried to get Angel to release her finger. Maddie laughed to herself as she watched Jazz struggle.

"You have to do this," she said, and gently tickled the girl's stomach. The baby laughed and released Jazz's finger, instead reaching for Maddie.

"How'd you know to do that?" she asked her mother. Maddie sighed heavily.

"Danny did that when he was a baby," she answered. "He would grab onto your fingers and he wouldn't let go. He was persistent. The only way to make him let go was to tickle him." Jazz smiled and touched the baby's soft cheeks with her fingers. She studied the little girl's face closely, looking for anything familiar in her face. Her dark eyes seemed to glow with life and excitement, as if she was just bursting with potential. As Jazz looked at her, she became aware of small things; the familiar arch of her eyebrows, or the almond shape of her eyes; the shape of her face, her little lips, her creamy skin, and, of course, the dark indigo blue her eyes glittered with.

"She looks… just _like_ them," Jazz said in a breathless whisper. Maddie took the baby from Jazz and cradled her in her arms.

"Isn't it incredible?" Maddie asked her daughter. "When a baby is born, you just can't imagine that two people combined to create this new person. There are endless possibilities for combinations of DNA and genes, and yet, the one that is before you is the one you love the most." Both Jazz and Maddie could see it clearly now. She had the same creamy skin as Sam, but the same facial shape as Danny. Her eye color was like a darker shade of Danny's, with a little violet tint mixed in, but clearly Sam's lovely almond shape, with long, thick eyelashes curling from her eyelids. She had the same nose as Danny, and yet the same hairline as Sam. Her cheeks curved up like Danny's did, but her earlobes were unattached, like Sam's. The more they looked at her, the more they saw them in her.

"I'm sorry, my little Angel," Maddie said slowly, wiping her eyes with her jacket sleeve. "You'll never know your parents. You'll look at yourself in the mirror and think 'Where did I get these eyes? This nose? These ears? This face? This body?' But… you'll never know them." Angel just gurgled in response.

"When you think about it," Jazz said after awhile, "she's all we have left of them." Maddie sighed.

"I wonder if now, that court order will finally go through," Maddie said softly. "They promised it months ago – and now that we're here, now that… it's over… they'll be given citizenship again…"

"Mrs. Fenton?" Maddie looked up to see a very large man in a dark suit standing before them. In his hand he held a manilla folder with the words _Manson-Fenton, Angel_ printed across the front.

"Can I help you?" Maddie asked, hardening her face, handing Angel to Jazz. The man smiled.

"I'm sorry I alarmed you. My name is John Brewer, and I've been appointed as Angel's Social Worker."

"…Oh," Maddie simply said as a response. "Oh, right." Brewer sat down in the chair next to Maddie, placing Angel's folder on the table between them.

"I have a proposition for you," he said, facing Maddie. Maddie nodded slowly, allowing him to continue. "Under the circumstances, Angel's guardianship is currently up in the air. She can either come into my custody, and she can go through the social system to get a foster home or adopted—" Jazz shuddered at the thought, "—or you and your husband could be named her legal guardians, and she would be handed over to you." Maddie stared at the officer, slightly surprised.

"You mean… just like that?" Maddie said in disbelief. Brewer nodded.

"Mr. and Mrs. Manson have already stated that they want nothing to do with the girl," he said, sighing heavily. "They don't want anything to do with… your family, I'm afraid." Maddie smiled weakly.

"It's not something that's new to us," she said wistfully. Angel gurgled happily as Jazz tickled her stomach next to Maddie.

"If you want my advice," Brewer said, leaning forwards, "Take Angel into your custody. It will be easier for her to be raised by someone in her own family – and she could be getting a large sum of money from the government if the re-evaluation of the case comes out with a new ruling."

"But, why are they making this such a simple choice?" Jazz asked suspiciously, leaning around her mother. "She wasn't born in a hospital, and no legal guardianship was appointed by her parents on paper. I mean, I'm not against my mother taking her in, it just seems… unlikely."

"Like I said – under the circumstances," Brewer said, "since the case is being re-evaluated, the court deems it the best idea if Angel stays with family members and remains in their custody. Especially since she has no real legal documents yet. Dealing with this case – and her involvement in it – would just be a lot more difficult if she were being shuffled around from foster home to foster home all the time."

"…I see," Maddie said, beginning to understand. She looked down at her granddaughter, no older than a month and a half. She looked back up at Brewer, and her face broke out into a brilliant smile.

"Of course I'll take her into our custody," Maddie said. "We're nothing like the Mansons."

"Apparently," Brewer said. "I spoke to them a few days ago, and it's very obvious that they don't want to acknowledge their granddaughter's existence."

"They're very… _proper_ people," Maddie said, trying to think of the right words to describe them. "I don't think a granddaughter born out of wedlock when they're daughter was just sixteen is their idea of propriety."

"More like they're elitist snobs," Jazz murmured to her mother. Brewer grinned. He opened the folder to show a series of guardian legal forms and other papers.

"If you sign here, we can give you temporary guardianship until this is straightened out…"

* * *

She was completely alone.

She had left the funeral early on the day it happened; now that school was ending, she finally found time to go to her grave alone and see her.

Valerie knelt down in the soft dirt in front of the tombstone, laying her hands in her lap. Fresh summer flowers were tied with black ribbons to the tombstone, giving it a burst of life. Some perennial flowers had been planted around the grave – morning glories and daisies, she noticed. So every summer, they would grow and adorn the grave like an ornate, decorative piece.

Valerie laid her hand on the stone, her palm connecting with the embossed words that had been etched into it. She had already read the words over and over again in her mind so many times that soon they began to make less sense as words and more sense as shapes before her, etched forever in granite and marble.

_Samantha Tabitha Manson_

_October 29th, 1992 until June 1st, 2008_

_Always Remember._

The words were very simple. But the odd shape and ornate decoration of the headstone was what made it stand out. Shaped like a large, hard-bound, upright book, it had the title _"Vita"_ down the spine, with Celtic designs around the edges. Underneath the title of the "book", along the base of the spine, was a prayer etched in Hebrew, barely visible to the casual onlooker.

In so many ways it touched every person who had come to see it when she was first buried.

"Sam," Valerie said to no one. "My God… what happened to us?"

"Who knows," a voice said behind her. Valerie whirled around; instinctively taking a fighting stance – when she realized it was Jazz.

And a baby.

Jazz had little Angel in her arms, the baby curling over her shoulder and waving her arms at the trees behind them. Jazz knelt down in front of the grave and laid down the flowers she was holding in her opposite hand. She then lowered Angel to the ground, sitting her down in front of the tombstone. Angel reached out and touched it, her hand falling on the words "Always Remember". Valerie just stared at the babe as she touched the stone.

"Who's _that_?" she asked, her voice sounding confused. Jazz sighed heavily and looked at Valerie with a stern face.

"She's my niece."

"Niece?" Valerie asked, glancing down at Angel again. "But, wait, does that mean that—"

"She's Danny's daughter," Jazz said, a contended smile forming on her face. "Him and Sam."

Valerie just stared at her, giving her the most incredulous look she had ever seen on someone's face. Jazz just laughed at the look, covering her mouth with her hand. Angel turned and looked up at her aunt, wondering what the sound was about. Valerie in turn looked down at Angel, who looked back at the young woman. Angel's large eyes locked on Valerie's face, and she looked with a sincere wonder of who she was.

"No way, you can't be serious," Valerie said. "He was… only sixteen when she was born! There's no way that this baby can be theirs! I mean, I saw it on the news… it just didn't feel real…"

"Oh, but it is," Jazz said in a softer voice. She sighed again, her face falling from laughter to sadness. "She was… their treasure."

Angel cooed softly, turning herself around to face Jazz.

"Do you think they'll ever be recovered?" Valerie asked, not turning to face Jazz. Jazz shrugged.

"If they _are_ to be found, I hope it's soon," Jazz said softly. Angel waved her arms as Jazz proceeded to lift her back into her arms. "I don't want them to find two skeletons three years later and identify them from dental records."

"If they even have those around still."

"I hope there's not some freaky ghost that finds their bodies," Jazz said, shuddering at the thought. "Could you imagine? The ghost that finds them – or, if there's a chance that they're still alive, _kills _them – will be the reigning hero amongst ghosts in the Ghost Zone."

Silence took over the conversation as Valerie stood up, giving a half-smile down at the grave.

"I'd better get going," she said, more to herself than to Jazz. She looked once more at the grave, and then walked off, leaving Jazz and Angel behind her.

Jazz looked down at Angel and smiled, taking her little hands in her own. Angel looked back up at her, her deep blue eyes sparkling with a familiarity that Jazz remembered all too well.

"My little Angel," Jazz said softly. She looked around, turning to see some benches behind her. They had been tagged with the familiar 'DP' symbol, the words 'Always Remember!' written around them.

"You'll see those marks and wonder, won't you?" Jazz asked. She scooped Angel up into her arms, and Angel giggled happily at her. For the first time since it all began, she allowed herself to cry, _really_ cry, horrible sobs, hugging Angel to her body. She bent forwards, using her own arms as tissues, and cried, her chest heaving, tears rolling down her cheeks so fast she couldn't even see.

But she was smiling.

* * *

_Hello, all. Yes, we've finally reached the end. All we have left is the epilogue, which I now have some sort of character development for thanks to WalksThroughWalls on dA. And various others. I'd like to thank everyone who's been reading the story so far, it really means a lot to me. Unfortunately I haven't really been inspired by anything as of late, but I'm hoping with the return of DP to the airwaves, something will crop into my head for another fic - I love writing long fics like this. Anyway, thank you to everybody, and I'll see you in the Epilogue.  
_**Shibby-One**


	22. Epilogue

_Special thanks to **PhantomNow, Cat-Star4, Kurachika**_, _and **WalksThroughWalls **for helping to create Angel as a character over on dA._

* * *

**Twilight Walking**  
**Epilogue**

* * *

The years had continued to flow by, like a river that was lazy and lethargic, just moving at it's own pace. At first it was bizarre, having a daughter in college and an adopted infant in their house, but the Fentons grew used to having baby Angel in their presence. 

Soon, she began to grow. Her legs gained strength and her first steps were across the kitchen, from the doorjamb all the way to the sink. Her giggling and incomprehensible gurgling formed words, and soon she began to speak. Her voice was young and baby-ish, but soon, as she dropped her baby fat and began to slim, her voice lowered to sounding just like a young Samantha Manson.

Her little patch of dark, thick hair grew straight down her back, eventually being so long that she could sit on it at seven. She became very thin, and she was very small, with a knack to attract trouble. But she was a treasure, even when she once ruined a rather expensive carpet with her fingerpaints at six.

Before their very eyes, it was like both Danny and Sam were growing up again. Eventually, however, she became less of "Danny and Sam" and more of "Angel". As she grew older, they began to see her more as her own person as opposed to a girl made up of body parts and features of Danny and Sam.

The bodies of Daniel John Fenton and Tucker Foley were never recovered. Police searched day and night for seven days after Sam was found – until the search officially became a recovery. All hopes of them being alive were dashed, and soon it was just a matter of finding their bodies and (hopefully) burying them next to Sam.

When Sam had first been admitted to the hospital, clutching her baby to her chest, half-conscious, she had said that Danny and Tucker were nearby. They had even been _spotted_ nearby right afterwards. But they were never seen again.

The government had released an official statement four or five years later, announcing that they had exiled the three of them under false pretenses, fake evidence and a misunderstanding. It put a great hole into the trust and the faith people had instilled not only on the government, but on the United States as a whole. All information of the three of them was recovered, and the Fentons (and the Mansons and the Foleys) were given back everything that had been taken from them.

More years passed, and Angel grew from a little girl into a young woman. Although she referred to her guardians as "Nana" and "Grampa", she thought of them as her parents. Every once in a great while she would ask a casual question about her birth parents, things like "Was Dad as bad at math as I am?" or "Was Mom as short as me?", but never anything more. Even though the entire house was like a Danny memorial, she never questioned it.

Jazz married one of her college beaus, a teen psychology major named Shane Mariani. Jazz also found herself as a psychology teacher at Casper High School.

Everything seemed to come full-circle when Angel, at age fourteen, took her first steps into Casper High School. It would be her first time experiencing a large student body, since she went to a private elementary school and a very small middle school on their side of town. She was a local celebrity; everyone knew her as the "miracle baby", the scientific baffle, the daughter of the "the Unwanted". Angel Fenton. It was almost surreal, Jazz noted, how Angel, a girl only eighteen years younger than herself, was in her class, barely over five feet tall with large, expressive indigo eyes. She called her "Mrs. Mariani" like everyone else, but all through her Freshman year, Jazz had this strange fear that something would happen – and then she would be on the run just like her father.

Except, of course, the only traces of ghostly activity in her body seemed to be the strong connection with spirits. She could tell when they were near, and had some sort of bondship with them – almost like "I'm here, I'm one of you, and yet, not truly."

Everything seemed to have come full-circle.

* * *

"…So then, she started just writing on the white board with pen," Angel was saying, taking a piece of bread from the top of the pile. She pushed her violet-dyed bangs behind her ears and gave the bowl to Shane, who took two. 

"Pen?" Maddie said, turning to look at her daughter. Jazz grinned sheepishly.

"Well, it's not _my_ fault that all the markers died," she said simply as Jack laughed. "Lancer almost threw a fit when he saw it, though."

"I'd imagine. That man doesn't seem very forgiving about these kinds of things," Shane said, taking a sip of his wine. Every so often, the Fentons invited Jazz and her husband to a dinner on a Friday evening.

"Well, I guess that explains why you took so long after school," Maddie said, glancing at Angel. Angel blushed as she bit into her bread.

"We weresh helping Jash," she said, her mouth full of bread. She swallowed hard. "Nana, it's not like we live really far away from the school or something." Jazz sighed.

"Now I have to pay for a new board _and_ new markers. This sucks." She pounded her fists onto the table in a very Jack-like manner. "I don't think there's anything that could cheer me up!" she said in a mock-deep voice. The rest of the family laughed as Jack shook his head.

"Now, Jazz, there isn't any reason to—"

"Jazz, honey, your cell's going off," Shane said, cutting Jack off. He tossed it to Jazz, who stared at the cell in confusion.

"What? Area code 617? Where's that?"

"That's… Boston," Angel said softly.

"She isn't, I don't think," Jazz said, standing up. "Boston? I…" She flipped open the phone and walked away. "Hello? Who is this?" She stood and listened for a moment, then said "Yes, this is she. Well, no, Jazz _Mariani_, but I was Jazz Fenton. Who may I ask is calling?" The family watched as Jazz's eyes widened. She clutched the phone with her left hand, spinning around so fast her wedding band nearly glowed for a moment.

"What? What the hell is this? If this is a prank, I swear to _God _I'll—" she said, her voice dripping with venom. Angel shot a 'Who-could-that-be?' look at Shane. Shane shrugged.

"I'm almost positive she doesn't know _anyone_ on the east coast," he whispered to his father-in-law.

"Okay… Then—what? Could…" Jazz covered her mouth with her hand, nearly dropping the phone as shock passed over her face. Both Jack and Shane stood up, and Angel had turned all the way around in her chair, clutching the back with her thin fingers.

"Oh… Oh my _GOD!_" She cried, nearly screaming the last word. She was shaking her head and breathing heavily, tears starting to roll down her cheeks. It became apparent that the person on the other end was yelling as well. "How could that… What? WHAT? How did you get _there?_ And now—What?"

"Jazz, who is it?" Shane asked loudly. Jazz was still shaking.

"What, channel _what?_ No, you idiot, we're on the west coast."

"JAZZ!" Maddie cried, running over to her daughter. "Who is it?" Jazz turned to her family, who were all standing in anticipation. Angel had wandered over, leaning on a coffee table in curiosity. Jazz's had a huge smile on her face, excitement written all over her.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she said.

"Try us," Angel said from the doorway. Jazz looked from Angel to Jack, to Maddie, to Shane.

"It's… it's _Danny._"

* * *

Angel wasn't sure what had just happened. One moment, she was telling her family a funny story about the school – the next moment she was loaded onto a private jet with the mayor of Amity Park, the governor of California, and her grandparents and her aunt and uncle, and the Foleys, flying the six-hour flight to Boston. It was seven at night – meaning they'd get there at about four in the morning, Boston time.

As soon as it had sunk in that Danny was on the phone, he immediately called the house phone and talked to all of them on speaker. Angel remained silent the entire time, sitting on the couch, playing with the bottom of her shirt. She wasn't mentioned once in the entire conversation – but then again, she didn't expect to be. She half expected them to leave without her, but they pushed her out the door and onto the plane and the next thing she knew – she was curling up in a huge plane seat and going to sleep.

Her dreams were filled of shadowed faces and lots of closed doors, all of them leading to a bottomless abyss that left her shaking.

When she awoke, they were landing in Boston at about 3:40 in the morning.

"Angel, honey, wake up," Maddie said, gently shaking her granddaughter. "We've landed." Angel rubbed her eyes and stretched, feeling extra small and insignificant than she normally did at 5' 1".

As soon as they disembarked from the plane, the entire Fenton (and Mariani and Foley) families were shoved into an SUV and sped off to Boston Common, where the state house was located – and where Danny and Tucker were waiting.

"Oh, my God, I can't even _believe_ it," Jazz said, nearly shaking from excitement and anticipation. "This is so… unbelievable!"

"You just said that, honey," Shane said absently, looking out the windows at the quiet Boston Common. "Look, there's the state house!"

"…and the entire city of Boston," Mrs. Foley said from the seat behind Shane. "My word, look at all the people."

There seemed to be herds of people filling the street near the state house, with many people in the common across the street, most people wearing bathrobes and thrown-on jackets over pajamas.

A path was opened in all the people as the SUV was driven into the crowd, and the families hopped out, Angel climbing out last. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest, she was sure that everyone around her could hear it.

"Nana," she said, grabbing onto her grandmother's hand, "is it really him?"

"I believe so," Maddie said, visibly shaking. Jack put his arm around her and hugged her tightly, more and more people filling the streets.

The mayor and the governor went up the steps to the state house to talk to the governor of Massachusetts, welcoming and talking to them briefly.

"This is just insane," Jack said. "It feels like the last few hours have just been a dream."

"We don't even know how they've survived this entire time," Maddie said back.

"I'm still not fully comprehending it all."

"Jack, how long do you think…" she started, but she stopped as the doors opened and the people around them began to cheer.

Through the doorway, escorted by the chief of the Boston Police, came two young men; one with long, black hair and bright blue eyes, and another with dark skin and hazy green eyes.

Maddie clasped her hands over her mouth as she saw Danny walk to the top of the stairs. He looked down, saw his mother, father, and sister, and, his face lighting up, took the stairs two at a time, eventually running over to them and throwing himself into his mother's arms.

"Mom!" he cried, his voice deeper than she remembered. The last time she saw him alive he was only fourteen years old, and scared out of his mind.

Both Jack and Maddie hugged their son tightly as news crews and the people of the city were cheering and attempting to run over themselves, except they were (luckily) held back by police.

Tears streamed down Maddie's face as she embraced her son, and even Jazz was crying as she was enveloped into Danny's arms. He had cleared her height by a good three inches or so.

Shane stood off to the side, smiled and shook his head, eventually walking over.

"D-Danny, this is Shane, my husband," Jazz said, gesturing to Shane. Shane shrugged.

"It's nice to finally meet you," Shane said, grinning. Danny shook his head.

"Likewise," he said, and they both laughed, relief washing over them.

Angel continued to stand back, watching all the happy reunions. She stood with her hands in her pockets, the cool night air nipping at her face. Her long black hair blew into her face despite it being back in a ponytail, and she pushed it out of her face in frustration.

"Danny, how did you survive? Where have you _been?_" Maddie asked. Danny shook his head and laughed.

"You wouldn't even believe us if we told you," he said, hugging his mother again. Jack then took his chance to scoop Danny up (whom he was still bigger than) and give him a bone-crushing hug.

"DAD! Dad, that still hurts," Danny said, and they all laughed in joy and relief as Jack set him back down.

"I thought maybe you'd missed it," Jack said, placing his hand on Danny's shoulder.

Maddie suddenly looked up, as if she had just remembered something.

"Danny," She said slowly, "I think there's someone you should meet."

"There is? Who?" Danny asked. Maddie motioned behind her to where Angel was standing by herself. The crowd followed Danny's gaze to the girl, where he stared at her in confusion.

"Who… wait," he said, a look of amazement coming over his face, and then confusion. "_Sam?_" He whispered.

"Close," Maddie said, smiling, tears still streaming down her face. "She does look like her, doesn't she? Sounds like her, too."

Danny looked at his mother, then back at Angel. He then took a step forward, and a look of realization fell over him as he remembered this small figure.

"…Angel?"

She looked up, wiping the tears away from her eyes. Danny took a step forward, disbelief, shock, and joy all mixed onto his face at once.

Silence fell over them as Angel just looked at the mysterious man. She knew it was virtually impossible for her to remember him, since she hadn't seen him in person since she was just a month old. And yet…

…She felt like she _did_ remember him.

"Angel, is that you?" he asked, stepping closer. He shook his head. "I don't believe it."

"Are you… you're… You're my father, aren't you?" Angel asked, putting her hands behind her back. Danny nodded.

"If you're Angel… then I am." Angel stood stock still, her heart still pounding away.

_She remembered him._ She wasn't sure how, or why, but she felt that connection, that powerful surge she often felt with the undead spirits that roamed around her town. Only this connection was different; it was deeper and rooted in a more secret, vital place in her heart.

Without warning, Angel began to run. She ran across the clearing, and, throwing out her arms, leaped into Danny's arms. He spun her around and fell onto his knees, pressing her against his chest and wrapping his arms tightly around her, as if to protect her.

Angel couldn't believe it. She buried her face in his shoulder, feeling his long, thick raven hair – _her_ hair. Her entire life she wondered just where her thick, unruly, black mane had come from – and here it was.

He pulled back from her, both of them kneeling on the ground. Danny placed his hand on her chin and looked at her closely. He could see it now. He could see why he thought she was Sam. She had Sam's thin figure, her eyes, her skin. He remembered those same dark sapphires for eyes that he saw on his infant daughter years and years ago. But at the same time, he saw her thick hark hair rolling down her back, and thin lips and small nose she got from him.

"How on earth could you remember me?" he asked. Angel shook her head.

"I don't know," she whispered, her voice sounding like a higher-pitched Sam. "I… I felt like I knew you from somewhere."

"You were an infant when we were separated. Less than that. Practically a newborn."

"I know."

It was a while before they realized the rest of the family had come over to them. Maddie reached down and hugged her son, kissing the side of his head. Jazz knelt down next to Angel and put her arms around her and Danny, with Jack holding on to them both. Shane knelt beside Jazz, placing a kiss on her cheek. Danny completed the circle by holding Angel gently in his arms.

They were completed.

* * *

"…It's a story that will amaze even the most pessimistic of people," the reporter began. "Shortly after Samantha Manson was hospitalized, both Fenton and Foley were on the run, searching for their lost member. Fenton, who was extremely weak, and Foley, who had the flu, collapsed just outside of the border of Maine, where they were found by an elderly woman and her son, who nursed them back to health.

"Through extreme measures – and a lot of ghost power usage – they escaped into Canada, where they got jobs as busboys on the luxury liner _The Maiden_. They did all of this using pseudonyms, since they had heard that they were being pursued by the police – not realizing it was because they could possibly be innocent.

"Shortly after arriving in London, England, the young men traveled to the little city of Brishmere, a city that, until now, was never in the limelight. The two of them have lived there for the past twelve years, until someone from out-of-town realized who they were and informed them of their innocence. As soon as they found out that they could come home, they boarded the earliest flight they could, touching down in Logan Airport at midnight just two nights ago.

"And now they're welcomed home… as heroes."

All over the country, at four and five in the morning, people were flipping on television screens. Young adults, old classmates who now lived states away from each other were turning on the news, seeing the story of forgotten classmates from so long ago. Old, forgotten times from their high school days, stories that they would continue to tell their own children and their children would tell _their_ children for years to come.

It's something that, twenty, thirty, forty, ninety, two hundred years later students would study in school, a section of American history. The story of three young teens going through something that no one had ever experienced before.

And two hundred years later, long after Danny himself had died, and his daughter, and his daughters children and their children had passed away, there was a grave shaped like a book in a cemetery in Amity Park, a cemetery that had long since been filled with graves, two other book-shaped graves on both sides, and every year, on the anniversary of their exile, someone laid a bouquet of flowers on that grave, and on the other two graves, the words having been eroded away with time; every year, people stayed out all night to finally see who was laying down these flowers, and within the blink of an eye they would appear, as if whoever had placed them there could make himself invisible by his will.

* * *

**The End.  
**

* * *

I wrote this epilogue waaaaay back in about chapter 4/5 or so. I came up with it in school and at first I thought it seemed impossible/corny, but then I researched "miracle cases" in the police and such and found that there are circumstances where this could really happen - it's times like these when the flaws with our judicial and communication systems come out. Anyway, I wanna thank all of my reviewers/readers who have been encouraging me and giving me really helpful tips/feedback on my first "big" fanfic in something close to two years. I also want to thank the few people over on dA who encouraged me to post it way back when I first mentioned it in December. I had a lot of fun writing this, and it felt really good to write something again. I'm hoping to have another fic like this out over the summer - check out my **Continuus** stories, the one titled "Empyreal" may make a debut. Or something else entirely different. 

Anyway, I just want to say thank you and stay strong, DP fandom, even at the conclusion of the series, there are still stories that need to be told.

**-Jess**


End file.
